


Tears of the Unworthy

by Megara09



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:07:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 57,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2334710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megara09/pseuds/Megara09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura, raped by Itachi, finds out she's pregnant. Itachi, attempting to keep his nightmares from becoming reality, rediscovers his humanity. Only love can redeem the one who cries the tears of the unworthy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pain and Love

Chapter One

Pain and Love

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

And thanks to Masked Itachi for the title.

* * *

 

With one last chakra-imbued punch to the training dummy, Sakura Haruno sighed. "I think that's enough for tonight. No sense wearing myself out before the mission tomorrow." Gathering her things together, she began the trek to her apartment. Halfway there, she noticed an extremely strong chakra signature following her. Her heart stuttered in her chest as she recognized it. She made a few quick hand signs and created three clones, hoping to distract the nin long enough to make it home. The four Sakuras nodded to each other before they each made hand signs and disappeared in a cloud of sakura petals.

The real Sakura masked her chakra and took a backwards detour that led halfway to her parent's house, then doubled back to head directly to her own house. Slipping inside through her bedroom window, she grabbed her spare shuriken pouch from the top of her dresser and layered a genjutsu around her house and another around herself. As she began to let herself think she was just being paranoid, a black-cloaked figure grabbed her from behind and threw her onto the bed. She screamed and fought against him, but he overpowered her. As she looked up to see who her attacker was, she fell into the world of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sakura was tied to a tree. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break the ropes binding her. She looked up when she felt eyes on her. "Itachi Uchiha…" Her eyes got wide with fear and she could almost feel Death's kiss coming closer… But, he just looked at her. No threats were issued, no swords brandished, just the impact of those crimson eyes taking in every detail of her being. It made Sakura feel almost…naked in the frankness of his stare.

"You will give in to me," Itachi stated, as though there was no doubt.

Sakura felt anger rise to the surface. "Oh yeah, buddy? Ya wanna bet? If I weren't in here I could kick your ass to Suna and back," she blurted out. 'Great going, baka. Now he'll kill us for sure!' Inner Sakura yelled. 'Just SHUT UP and let me handle this!' Sakura yelled back. As Inner Sakura shied away from Sakura's thoughts, Itachi walked closer to Sakura. She whimpered and closed her eyes. 'I don't want to die yet…' she thought.

"Be rational, kunoichi. You are nowhere near my level of power. The most rational choice would be to give in to my demands."

"...which are?" Sakura asked tremulously.

"Give your body into my keeping for one night."

"No!" The denial was immediate, vehement.

Itachi took another step closer. "Holding out for my otouto?" Sakura said nothing, but the blush that tinted her cheeks spoke for her. Finally stepping up to the kunoichi, Itachi whispered in her ear, "He will never have you, Sa-ku-ra. He has forgotten all about you in his quest for power. And, after I have you, he will never want you."

Tears welled in Sakura's eyes. She heard the truth ringing in Itachi's words. Blinking back the tears, she looked up to find that Itachi was gone. But his words rang in her mind, echoing around her like bells, growing louder and louder. Finally, the tears fell from her eyes, drenching her face. For what seemed like hours, Sakura wept at the truth that her teammate cared nothing for her. Eventually, exhaustion pulled her into its comforting depths.

As Sakura came back to her conscious body, she saw Itachi hovering over her. She tried to form a protest as he began to unzip and remove her clothes, but she didn't have the energy to vocalize a protest, let alone chakra-punch the man currently stripping her. Instead of taking her like a barbarian, Itachi kissed her slowly, coaxing her weary body into accepting his. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, as she gave in to the elder Uchiha's demands, she thought, "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

If Itachi noticed her tears, he didn't show it. For an eternity, he swept Sakura along with himself in a sea of raging emotions. With his face buried in her neck, he gripped the Jounin kunoichi with a hold bordering on desperation. Words slipped past his lips, senseless babble that neither he nor Sakura understood or would remember. Sakura's hands came up to run down his back, nails lightly scoring the taut skin. In retaliation, Itachi latched his teeth not-so-gently into her neck.

Moans echoed throughout Sakura's bedroom. Itachi held Sakura closer as he neared his release. Sakura's breath shortened, her toes curled. With one last hard, deep thrust, they both tumbled over the edge.

After a few moments, Itachi moved off of Sakura's prone body. Her soft sobs echoed more quietly than her moans had, though the impact was just as great. The nuke-nin gathered his things as he dressed. By the time he slipped through her window, the pink-haired kunoichi was asleep, tears still running down her face.

The next morning, Sakura awoke, hoping it had all been a horrible nightmare. Seeing the rumbled bed, her clothes strewn haphazardly around, Sakura felt tears well up again. Looking to her side, where Itachi had rolled after they had collapsed with fatigue, she saw a cosmos flower draped with Itachi's necklace. In a fit of rage, Sakura flung the necklace across the room, where it hit the wall and slid down to rest behind her dresser. But the kunoichi didn't notice. She had her face buried in her pillow, crying her heart out.

####################

A month later, Sakura walked into the hospital where she was currently one of the Head Medics; she was only ranked below Tsunade and Shizune. For the next twelve hours after walking into the building, she was overwhelmed. Four separate squads came in, needing medical attention. Then, everyday paperwork kept her secluded in her office for hours. By the end of her shift, she started to feel a bit down. She wasn't worried; the day before, she had worked a full 18-hour shift. One last patient before she left, a nine-year-old Academy student with a kunai injury to the leg, delayed her leaving. She talked to the boy, then drew on her dwindling chakra reserves to heal the wound. Standing, she swayed before righting herself on the wall. Smiling reassuringly at the child and his mother, she walked from the room.

Stepping outside, she pulled the door shut and proceeded to fall face-first to the floor. Genma, flirting with a pretty nurse, darted to catch the falling woman. Standing with her in his arms, he stood for a moment. When no one moved to help him, he snapped, "Well? Where do I take her?"

Nurses scrambled to find an empty room for their superior. Following their forms, Genma walked into an empty room and laid the unconscious kunoichi on the bed. Tsunade herself strode into the room soon after, coming straight away after she heard that her student had passed out. She walked straight up to Sakura and immediately her hands were lit with her chakra. From head to toe, she examined her eventual successor. Only the thick barrier around her mind and the growing form in her belly gave the hime pause.

Without a word about Sakura's condition, she barked, "Everyone out!" The bystanders vacated the room rather quickly. Once the door was shut behind the last person, Tsunade turned back to the bed. Laying her chakra-imbued hand over Sakura's forehead, she coaxed her pupil back to wakefulness.

The pinkette came to slowly, blinking blearily to focus. "Shishou? What's going on?"

"You passed out. Have you been feeling dizzy lately? Any nausea?"

Sakura scrunched her nose. "I've been dizzy, but I always get dizzy after working a double shift. And I've been feeling a cold or something coming on. Why?" When Tsunade didn't answer, Sakura felt the cold chill of fear crawl up her spine. "What's wrong with me, Shishou?"

"Sakura, when was the last time you had sex?" Tsunade asked bluntly.

"Why does that- Oh. Oh, god." Sakura's question halted mid-way as she realized just what was wrong with her. Hands glowing with green chakra, she delved into her abdomen. The spark of light under her hands confirmed her fear. She was pregnant.

Tsunade watched as her might-as-well-be-daughter burst into tears. "I assume this means you're not happy about this?"

Sakura held her face in her hands and shook her head. A bitter laugh escaped her. "No, I'm not happy. It just figures. I never thought it would be like this, though."

At her words, the slug-hime raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Sakura brought her knees to her chest and rested her cheek there. "I always wanted to have an Uchiha's child. I just always thought it would be Sasuke."

"If you mean what I think you mean..."

Sakura finished her sentence. "...I'm having Itachi Uchiha's child." With that, her head dropped onto her knees as the tears flowed once again.

For her part, Tsunade was stunned. "How...how did this happen, Sakura?"

"He infiltrated the village, followed me home, and coerced me. Worse than that. He used the Mangekyou to wear me down, then used my own body against me."

"How did he slip past the guards?"

Sakura laughed mirthlessly. "How did he do it ten years ago when he tried to abduct Naruto? He's just too powerful to dismiss like that."

Tsunade sighed. "So, what are you going to do? Will you terminate, or germinate?"

Sakura laughed through her tears. "I'm not a flower, Shishou, despite my name. I am not a wilting petunia, or a lovely wallflower." She looked up at the Hokage with a determined look. "I am a kunoichi. This child is mine, not Itachi Uchiha's. The sins of the father will not touch my child."

Tsunade smiled. "I thought you might say that. Now, let's go set up your first appointment, shall we? I won't have my grandchild developing inside an unhealthy mother. You don't eat enough, Sakura."

Sakura smiled up at her second mother with a smile, accepting the admonitions with grace. "I can do this. With help from my family, I can do anything."

####################

For the next few months, Sakura went about life as usual as she could. She took shorter shifts at the hospital, accepted less dangerous missions, and tried to come to terms with the changes in her body.

At her second appointment, she discovered she was having fraternal twins. Ino was there to walk the stunned kunoichi home. As Sakura curled up on her couch, Ino settled in beside her. "It just figures, huh, Ino-pig? Not only is it the wrong Uchiha, he's got super-sperm. And I'm scared shitless."

Ino laughed as she flung her arms around her best friend. "Oh, Forehead, don't worry! You've got me here to help you."

Sakura grinned weakly and shot back, "That scares me more!"

The women laughed and spent the rest of the day moving the furniture in Sakura's apartment around to fit two cribs. When the girls moved the dresser, a glint of metal caught Ino's eye. Calling a stop, she bent to retrieve it. "Ne, what's this, Sakura? Surely not yours. I taught you better than to wear such jewelry."

Sakura froze at the sight of the necklace dangling from Ino's finger. Trembling hands reached out to grasp the metal that Itachi had left for her. As she touched the cold metal, she felt a flash of pain. Jerking her hand back, she glared at the offending thing. "Throw it away, Pig. Let's get finished. Soon, I won't be able to move, much less move furniture."

Ino shrugged as she slipped the necklace into a drawer in the dresser. Sakura may fuss when she found it, but it was obviously important to the girl.

####################

Miles away, Itachi felt a jolt of energy hit him. With it, came information about Sakura. A special jutsu on the necklace allowed him to check up on Sakura whenever she touched the thing. The necklace was an heirloom passed down from father to eldest son for generations. It was a gift given to the heir's wife, to keep constant tabs on the woman.

Itachi had impulsively given it to Sakura. It seemed that impulse had been fortuitous in the end.

It seemed his one-time lover was pregnant. With twins. Itachi's lips quirked in a half-smile. Time for a visit to Konoha.

####################

As Sakura was about to walk out of her apartment door, she heard a commotion down the street. She walked toward the sound and saw Naruto and Kankuro fighting in the street in front of Ichiraku. As she got closer she heard them yelling about...ramen? Sakura shook her head as she walked toward Ino, who was standing outside her family's flower shop.

"How much more immature can those two get? I thought once Naruto started hanging around Gaara and Kankuro he'd grow up some, but it seems like Kankuro is even more immature than Naruto when he's away from Gaara," Ino complained.

Sakura laughed at the affection in Ino's voice. "You're just angry because you have to go get him away from Naruto...in front of all of those people," Sakura said, laughing at Ino's expression.

"Well, I guess it is the only I can do, since he's going to be my brother-in-law. I don't see how Gaara puts up with his antics," Ino said, mystified.

"Well, he is a lot like Naruto. And you know how much Gaara thinks of Naruto. He saved Gaara from himself," Sakura said.

Ino sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, what are you doing out here, Forehead?" Ino asked, as if she just noticed Sakura standing there. "Aren't you supposed to stay in bed since you're so close to your due date? You know Tsunade-sama will be angry at you if she finds out," Ino said, genuinely worried about her friend.

"I'll be fine, Ino-pig. I'm just going to the store to pick up some things for the house," Sakura told her patiently.

"I'll go with you then. Gaara asked me if I could pick a few things up for him," Ino said as she locked the door to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

The two walked through the park to the store. Ino looked at Sakura, about to say something, but her words died before they left her lips. Sakura was watching a small child play with her father. The little girl was running in circles around the dad, who was laughing and looking at his daughter with so much love in his eyes that it made Sakura's breath catch in her throat.

"Sakura," Ino started softly, "I'm sorry. I know this isn't how you imagined you'd end up. Single, two kids, and a third masquerading as your teammate." A thoughtful look crossed her face. "Do you think he knows? About the babies, I mean."

Sakura tore her gaze from the family. "I don't know, Ino. I don't think I care, either. I won't let the stigma of the Uchiha clan touch my children. They won't even know who he is, if I can help it. I'll say their father was a shinobi who died on a mission. It's not so far from the truth."

Ino let out a beleaguered sigh. "Forehead, half the village knows. Once the nurses at the hospital knew, they told everyone. Like it or not, they've already been branded as Uchiha."

"The name doesn't matter, Ino. It's the insanity, the greed, the hunger for power." Her hand rubbed across her expanding belly. "I won't let these innocents be dragged in the mud just because of who got me pregnant. And might I add, he forced me. It's not like I was carrying on a wild affair with a nuke-nin."

Ino laughed. "Whatever. You're impossible. Let's finish here so I can go continue my wild affair with the Sand Beast. Can it still be considered an affair if you're engaged?"

The girls laughed, not knowing that they were being watched from afar.

####################

Itachi watched Sakura and the Yamanaka girl walk to the market. His face was strained, his eyes ringed by the shadows caused from no sleep. For the past four months, he had watched Sakura, growing rounder with his children, loving them even in their gestation. For the past three months, he had been plagued by a recurring nightmare. A dark cave, an evil laugh. Sakura's screams and the cries of his children. The lack of sleep was taking a toll. Turning to leave, he took one last look at Sakura. Hand on her belly, she looked longingly at the father and his daughter still playing across the park.

"So you want a family. I suppose that's the natural process of things. Perhaps..."


	2. New Life

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter Two:

New Life

After Ino brought up the thought of whether or not Itachi knew about her pregnancy, Sakura began thinking of him more often. She thought back to when they had first met, before the massacre. He had already been a Chuunin, and was watching over the Academy class Sakura was in. When the little girl had almost been attacked by a fellow classmate, Itachi had stepped in and sent the other child on her way. Sakura had hero-worshiped the stoic boy after that.

Sasuke was, of course, extremely jealous of Sakura's affection to Itachi. Only he could have his aniki's attention! Itachi, for his part, never really noticed how intent the pink haired child was on spending time with him.

For years, the young girl carried her halfway-hidden torch for the older Uchiha. Then, after the massacre, she had hidden it even more. Nobody wanted to be told that the person you loved had killed his entire family. So, Sakura had transferred her adoration onto the next viable male: Sasuke.

The two were enough alike so that most of Sakura's feeling attached quite easily onto the younger of the Uchiha. Some of the emotion was just too strong to surrender its hold on the elder of the two.

At 16, Sakura had met Itachi again for the first time after the massacre. She had been separated from her team and was tracking her way back home when she had come upon the lone Akatsuki member in a small village just inside Fire's borders. All at once, the old emotion came slamming home. She had stopped in the middle of the busy street and was almost run over by a traveling merchant.

Itachi had recognized her, of course. Who could miss that pink hair? Remembering the young girl she had once been, Itachi had flashed to her side and saved her from being run over. They had ended up in a back alley, and Sakura had glanced up at the man in front of her with wide eyes.

" _Why did you save me?"_

" _I...couldn't let you get hurt."_

At the time, the response had confused her. Enough to where she agreed to a cup of tea with him. The impromptu meeting had knocked the poor kunoichi off-kilter. By the end of their cups of tea, Sakura had fallen all over again.

For two years, Itachi would surprise the kunoichi with a meeting at a tea shop somewhere along the route she was traveling on a mission. She didn't know why he kept meeting her, or why she didn't inform Konoha of the regularity of his appearances. She enjoyed him being her little secret.

In all the times they met, as intimate of subjects as they discussed, sex was never brought up. They spoke of children, and Sakura had been adamant on her opinion of making Jounin rank before even thinking about children. Itachi had gazed at her with an unreadable expression as she went on to say that she would never accept a mate who would not share equally in raising whatever children they had together.

They never touched, never even got close physically, but somehow, those meetings drove the Uchiha into a frenzy. He began to notice the Genin's body filling out into a more womanly shape, her curves becoming more pronounced. As her body changed, so did his. Where once he pushed desires for the flesh into the background of his mind, now they were constantly at the front. His dreams were filled with Sakura, imaginings of her lush body, held down by his own. When he realized where his musings were beginning to wander, he stopped meeting the object of his awakened desires abruptly. After a few months, Sakura had given up. Just one more male in a long line that had thought her to be not worth the trouble.

When he had caught her inside her house, at first she had been overjoyed. Then, cold reason slid into its place. She had been naïve to think he had felt anything for her all those years ago. She was angry with him and with herself because she had let herself fall for the traitor all over again. After he had turned her own body against her, using his not-inconsiderable skill to make her want him, she had seen just how selfish and unfeeling he really was.

At night, Sakura ran her hands over her burgeoning belly and wept at her own ignorance. Who was she to change a man who had, for so long, carried his hatred and resentment of the very village she had sworn her life to protect. Who was she to make the man who had turned on his own family so fatally, fall for her in the same way she had fallen for him? And so, Sakura wept the tears of the brokenhearted, desperate for answers as to why she was so unlovable and unwanted.

###############

In the last week of her gestation, Sakura was in the final stages of completing her home for the babies. Extremely pregnant, Sakura was working at eliminating every speck of dust from her apartment. She had woken with a start that morning, worried that one or both of her babies would be allergic to dust. By half past three, she had cleaned every room except the kitchen. She was on her way to that very room, wanting to get some tea, when she felt her water break. " _Uh-oh...here we go,"_ she thought. Sakura waddled to the phone and dialed Ino, TenTen and Hinata and told them all the same short message: The babies are coming.

Trusting Ino to call Tsunade and the other women at the hospital, Sakura went to her room to pack her things for her hospital stay. As she walked into the room, she looked around at the sad bleakness of it. Whitewash walls, black curtains, and a black bedspread, with barely any pictures or mementos in view, she felt a little sad that she had never redecorated like she had wanted to. She had gotten Naruto to paint the babies' nursery a sunny, warm yellow, but had never gotten around to the rest of the house like she had planned. After Naruto and Hinata became a permanent couple, not yet married but eventually, it had been hard for Sakura to drag him away from his deepening relationship with Hinata to paint walls for his pregnant teammate.

Sakura shook herself from her musings, then grabbed her backpack to pack her things. She grabbed some clothes, a pair each of shoes and slippers, toothbrush and toothpaste, and Itachi's necklace. She had found it the morning after she and Ino moved furniture. Where once she had hated the sight of it, she now took it as an apology and felt oddly comforted wearing it. She didn't realize that the comfort was part of the jutsu on the necklace, making her _want_ to wear it, so the male who gave it to her could have more contact and information about her.

Just as Sakura finished her packing, Ino, Hinata, TenTen, and Tsunade piled into her room. Tsunade told Ino and TenTen to grab Sakura's bags, and Hinata to go through the house and turn everything off. Tsunade got a wheelchair out of Sakura's closet, left there for this very purpose, and settled Sakura into it with a blanket over her lap. Tsunade made a few hands signs, then both her and Sakura were transported to the hospital. As soon as they were there, a nurse rushed Sakura to the Maternity Ward. The nurse administered an IV and checked to see how far into labor she was. As the nurse left the room, Sakura thought _I knew I should've packed something to read or amuse myself with._ As soon as that thought left her head, Ino and TenTen and Hinata popped into room with all sorts of fun things for the bed-ridden kunoichi to do. Ino brought fashion magazines, TenTen brought weapons magazines, and Hinata brought puzzle books. As a special treat, they had brought along Sakura's favorite board game, Shogi. They took turns playing, while the ones who weren't playing read a magazine or did a puzzle. A few hours later, Sakura felt the pain crescendo. She buzzed for the nurse and requested pain medication. As the nurse shot a dose of the medication into the IV, Sakura felt one of the babies moving around inside her.

"Nurse, I think it's time. I felt one of the babies shifting down," Sakura said to the nurse.

"Don't be silly. You haven't been in labor long enough," the nurse said to her in a condescending tone.

"I'm a medical ninja, dammit. I think I know when I'm having a child!" she pointed out. Loudly.

A little flustered and more than a little angry, the nurse went outside to get a doctor. When the doctor checked Sakura again after sending the other kunoichi outside, he let out a disbelieving sound.

"This has certainly never happened before. One of the babies is already crowning. Nurse, get a blanket and get this little one cleaned off," he said as he finished delivering the baby, then handed it to the nurse. He turned back to Sakura and told her to get ready for the next baby to be born. As the next one was born, it let out a hearty wail. Sakura gave a sigh of contentment that her job was done. _They're really here aren't they?_ she thought to herself.

A nurse brought her first child to her, marked by a string tied loosely around its wrist. "Congratulations. You have a beautiful baby girl," she said as the baby was handed to her mother. Sakura took one look at her child and felt tears well up. She looked so much like Itachi it hurt. Black tufts of hair, shot through with natural pink highlights, deep onyx eyes, and a curious gaze, she was everything Sakura could've wished for. Ten fingers and ten toes, two eyes and ears, a tiny little mouth and nose; she was beautiful. Sakura was tugged away from her inner musings as the nurse brought her other child, this time a boy. His hair, though, was completely black. His eyes were emerald, like her own, but with black rings around the irises. Both of her children were completely normal, save for the strange hair and eye coloring. The only thing she could've wished for at that moment was for a loving mate to be there beside her, sharing her joy at having two healthy children. She felt a few tears fall from her eyes as she thought of what Itachi could have been, but shook off the sad thought. She had just given birth and she was _not_ going to sit there thinking of that rat-bastard while she could be enjoying her first few moments with her children.

She refused to give back her children as the nurses moved her to the recovery ward. _Being Lady Tsunade's apprentice really pays off sometimes,_ Sakura thought as she looked around her room. It was one of the better rooms, with a TV and a cot in the corner for a family member to sleep on. It was painted white but had colorful decorations. Paintings and children's drawings, pretty curtains on the windows, and the sheets on the bed were pink with small black polka-dots on it. Sakura was sitting up and playing with her babies when the rest of the Rookie Nine kunoichi came bursting into the room, loaded down with gifts. They all but threw the bags and boxes down when they saw the two dark heads on Sakura's bed. Ino was the first to reach the bed, and she made good use of that fact. Under Sakura's watchful eye, she picked the baby girl up and began rocking her.

"What are you going to name her, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I was thinking about naming her Mikoto. Then I thought about Itachi or Sasuke finding out about that and realized I actually like having my head attached," Sakura told Ino.

"Well, she doesn't look like a Mikoto. Plus, I don't think Itachi would like that, either," TenTen said.

"I think I might name her Suki. And the boy Makoto. What do you think?" Sakura looked at her friends.

"Well, they're your children. It's not up to us. We could go find Itachi and ask him... Of course, we might not live to make it back to tell you..." Ino broke off as she saw Sakura's eyes well up with tears. "Omigosh! What did I say? Was it the part about Itachi? I'm so sorry, Sakura! I didn't think it would upset you!"

"It's okay, Ino. I just...I just wish he was a normal man who could've seen them take their first breaths like I did, not a nuke-nin who doesn't even care that his one-night stand got pregnant. Itachi may not want them, but it was a special moment. I can't believe I'm crying over this," Sakura said, then burst into more tears. Ino, Hinata, and TenTen spent the next five minutes trying to calm the pink-haired kunoichi down. None of them saw the crimson eyes that watched them from outside the window.

**####################**

Itachi watched for an hour as the kunoichi fawned over the newborns. Finally, pleading exhaustion, Sakura asked them to leave. She looked over at her children in their hospital cribs and smiled as she drifted to sleep. Itachi slipped inside the room and walked silently to the cribs. He looked down the sleeping family and felt his nonexistent heart warm. " _They look so peaceful_ ," he thought. He picked his son up and looked at his strange-colored eyes as he woke up. The child smiled at Itachi, as though he knew he was looking at his father. Itachi held the boy close to him, studying his child. When the boy yawned and closed his eyes, Itachi placed his son back in the crib. Turning, he gently picked up his daughter. Unlike her brother, she stayed asleep, snuggling closer to Itachi in search of warmth. Stroking the baby's odd hair, he glanced at Sakura.

Reaching a hand toward the sleeping kunoichi, he stopped when a kunai was pressed to his neck. The clone on the bed slept on as the real Sakura stepped between Itachi and the newborns. His other hand reached toward the new mother behind him.

"Do that, and I promise you will regret it," Sakura said in a deadly tone.

Itachi said nothing, simply standing there silently. Sakura didn't lower the kunai, but it wavered a bit from her sheer exhaustion from giving birth. Itachi attempted to turn around, but stopped when Sakura raised the kunai threateningly. She blinked as her vision wavered and found their positions reversed. Itachi was behind Sakura, her arms trapped by his as his lips brushed her ear.

"You shouldn't have sharp weapons near our children. You could've hurt one of them," Itachi said in a condescending tone, his warm breath sending shivers down Sakura's spine.

"I know how to handle kunai, Itachi. I'm a kunoichi," she snapped, cursing her traitorous body for responding to his.

"Not anymore. You will stay home and care for our children."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you really think I would want you anywhere near _my_ children?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"I want to be in their lives...and yours. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry about getting you pregnant. I didn't expect you to get pregnant, but in a way, I'm glad you did. This is a chance to rebuild the Uchiha clan without the influence of the elders. With you as my mate, we can do this, Sakura. We just have to work together. Now go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up," he told her as he walked her forward to the bed and released her.

Sakura was still reeling over everything he had said. Itachi rarely said so much at once. She decided to take his advice, though. She really was tired. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt him kiss her cheek. She rewarded him with a polite slap to the cheek.

Itachi stood there for a minute, holding the cheek Sakura had slapped, and listening to his little family sleeping. He sank into a chair beside the window and watched the sun as it completed its journey behind the mountains in the distance.


	3. A New Beginning

**I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

**A New Beginning**

Itachi watched from the doorway as Sakura rocked Mai in the nursery of her apartment. Shin was in his crib close by. The door frame creaked a bit as he leaned his weight on it. Sakura looked up at him and faltered in her rocking. When the baby girl started to fuss, she attempted to regain her composure.

"You can come in, you know. They won't bite. In fact, they're asleep," Sakura said with a small, fake smile.

Itachi, looking a bit uncomfortable, walked towards the rocking chair. He looked down at his children and felt a warm feeling move through his heart. He was still a bit blown away by the fact that Sakura had had twins. _Twins!_ He had not one, but two children of his own to spoil and care for. He allowed a small, barely noticeable smile to grace his lips.

Sakura, seeing that smile, felt her heart stop, then pound into overdrive. She had never seen Itachi smile so tenderly, not even at Sasuke when they were still young. " _It's only fitting that his children bring out his tenderness,"_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Do you want to hold one of them?" Sakura asked Itachi.

Itachi's eyes flew to Sakura's. He said nothing for a moment, then nodded and reached for Mai. Sakura quietly corrected his hold on their daughter, then leaned over to pick up her son as Itachi's eyes roved over Mai. He activated his Sharingan, scaring Sakura half to death. He looked closely at every aspect of his daughter, then his son, to assure himself that they were normal and healthy. When he finished his perusal, he deactivated the Sharingan and looked at Sakura. Her eyes were wide and the blood had drained from her face, making her appear ghostly pale. She had clutched Shin close to her, almost as if protecting him.

Itachi reached towards her, wanting the look on her face to disappear. As his hand neared her, Sakura flinched away. Itachi saw the involuntary action and slowly dropped his hand. He gently placed his daughter in her crib, then walked out of the room.

Sakura heard the front door slam and flinched again. She hadn't been able to help to absolute horror that had washed over her when Itachi had turned his Sharingan on Mai. Sakura sighed and placed Shin in his crib, then quietly walked out of the nursery. As she walked through the house, she thought back to the day after Itachi had come back.

**############**

Sakura awoke to the sound of one of her babies crying. She sat up and looked around, taking in the empty room. She looked to her side, but found that the spot where Itachi had been was devoid of the man. Sakura sighed and got out of the bed, then walked over to the cribs where her children were. She gently picked up the crying baby boy and carried him to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. She sat down and nursed her son, then rocked him back to sleep after she burped him. She looked down at her baby, smiling at his fuzzy hair and tiny features. She suddenly heard yelling in the hall outside her room. She placed her sleeping son in his crib and slipped silently out the door, then stopped short when she saw Itachi being pushed against the wall by several Konoha ANBU. He wasn't putting up a fight; instead, he was calmly pointing out that he was unarmed and didn't want to cause any unnecessary noise due to the fact that his children were asleep.

Sakura ran up to the ANBU and punched one in the head. "Get off of him! Leave him alone! He isn't hurting anyone!" Sakura screamed. She hit another ANBU and screamed at them.

Shikamaru, who had just walked around the corner of the hall, rushed up to her and grabbed her arms. "Calm down, Sakura. He's an S-ranked rogue ninja. We have to apprehend him for questioning by the Hokage. We aren't going to hurt him," Shikamaru said softly. He felt the tension ease out of the petite rosette kunoichi. He let go of her arms and turned her around to face him. "It won't take long. Lady Hokage just has to go through the routine. You know the drill. He'll be back by sundown. I promise you Sakura, I won't let anything happen to him," Shikamaru vowed.

The ANBU pulled Itachi away from the wall after putting chakra cuffs on him. The cuffs were specially designed to hold a prisoner no matter how much they struggled, and also to dampen the prisoner's chakra supply a bit. Sakura hurried to Itachi's side and impulsively threw her arms around his neck. Itachi pressed a kiss into her hair and looked down at her as she pulled away.

"I'll be back soon, Sakura. Take care of the twins. We can name them when I get back," Itachi said quietly. Sakura watched sadly as the ANBU took him away.

A few hours later, a ragged Itachi stumbled into the room. Sakura gasped at his state and rushed to him. She helped him over to the bed and watched worriedly as he collapsed onto it.

"What did they do to you, Itachi? You look like hell," Sakura said, more than a little worried.

Itachi let out a small grunt. "I feel like hell. They used some jutsu on me. Tsunade was inside my head. Then the guards 'roughed me up' while Tsunade was giving me a break. My head feels like it's going to explode," Itachi complained.

Sakura closed the curtains on the windows and shut the door, then turned the lights down low to help Itachi's headache. She sat on the bed beside him and began to ease his aching with her chakra. Itachi let out a small sound of approval. Sakura smiled and continued with her work. As she finished healing him, she looked down at Itachi and stared at his face, taking in the visage she had loved for so long.

She stared at his hair, remembering how she would compare his managed locks to Sasuke's chicken-butt hairstyle. Next were his eyes, and she remembered when he had looked at her with the Sharingan for the first time ever. Next, her eyes dwelled on Itachi's lips, which she had yearned to give her her first kiss. As she looked over the rest of his body, memories flooding her the whole time, she felt his gaze on her.

Her eyes jumped to his, a blush forming on her cheeks. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. As she got closer to him, his eyes wandered to her lips, becoming glued there as they came closer to his. When they were a breath away from kissing, one of the twins let out a hearty wail. The two broke apart and Sakura, blushing madly, rushed to her daughter. She picked the tiny girl up and went to settle herself in the rocker.

"Come over here," Itachi said to her. Sakura sent him a questioning look. Itachi didn't bother to answer it, just looked at her intently until she gave in. Holding their daughter tightly to her, she carefully clambered onto the bed and settled beside Itachi's legs. As Sakura nursed the baby, Itachi was thinking of a name for his daughter. "Mai," he said slowly. "We should name her Mai."

Sakura turned startled eyes towards Itachi. "T-that's a good name, Itachi. And how about Shin for m-our son?" she asked him, a bit hesitant.

Itachi smiled just a tiny bit. "Mai and Shin. I like those names," he said. A few minutes later, after Sakura had burped Mai and gotten her back to sleep, Itachi brought up a subject that he had tried to avoid. "Sakura," he began softly, "I want us to live at the compound. We can clean up one of the houses and tear down the rest. It can be the beginning of the new Uchiha clan. None of the rules I had when I was a child. We can make our own life, Sakura. We don't have to live the one others pick out for us," Itachi said the last softly.

Sakura was a bit shocked by the proposal. She had always dreamed of hearing an Uchiha say those very words, though _which_ Uchiha she dreamt of wavered between Itachi and Sasuke. "I'm not sure, Itachi. It sounds great, but can I really trust you?"

Itachi stared into her green eyes. "I will never hurt you like that again, Sakura. And I would never allow anyone to harm my children."

A bit taken aback, Sakura blinked. Slowly, she said, "Well, we can try it out, I guess. But I want to repaint and redecorate the house."

"You can do whatever you want to it. There's nothing in that place that holds any value for me." Itachi was looking out the window when Sakura looked up at him. His eyes jumped to hers when he felt her lips brush his cheek. She smiled up at him and then settled beside him to catch some sleep. Itachi ran a hand through her hair and drifted into sleep.

The day after Sakura got out of the hospital, Itachi had her things moved from her apartment to his childhood home. They spent the next few days rearranging furniture and getting the house organized. Itachi had gotten used to Sakura jumping up from relaxing in a chair and saying that the house didn't look right. He was also used to her randomly throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek, then blushing and mumbling as she realized what she had done. Sakura was a bit confused over her own actions. She loved this man and wanted to show him that, but when she did show it, she started blushing like Hinata would around Naruto during their Genin days. Inner Sakura was getting tired of having to stay locked up in Sakura's mind while the man they loved was _right there!_ Inner was on the verge of a mental breakdown by way of anger at Sakura. " _ **Just you wait, Sakura. Next chance I get, I am breaking free and telling Itachi everything that you've been holding back.**_ **That** _ **might jump-start this relationship back to life!"**_

**############**

Sakura walked through the newly painted main house. It was no longer dark and depressing. It didn't have the Uchiha Clan symbol on every part of the house. It was now bright and cheerful. Done in mostly warm, muted colors, the house wasn't anywhere near the same as it had been. Itachi hadn't even cared what colors Sakura wanted to paint the house. He just didn't want his twins to grow up in the same kind of hell he had.

_**"Are you going to apologize? Because, really, you don't need to. He scared me, too, with that.**_ _ **"**_ Inner Sakura reared her head up out of Sakura's subconscious. While Sakura knew Inner was right, she really didn't want to face Itachi. The problem was, despite trying very hard to, she didn'ttrust Itachi - and now he knew it. Sakura sighed, facing up to the fact that she was lying to herself. It wasn't just Itachi she didn't trust. She also didn't trust herself. Sighing, she resigned herself to a night of stony silence. While she waited for Itachi to get home, she went to the kitchen to cook dinner. As she cooked, she thought about what to say to Itachi to bring him out of his mood. By the time she had thought it through and knew what to say, dinner was ready and her babies were crying. Rushing to see them, she nearly tripped over the rug she had placed in the hall. Just as she was about to hit the floor, two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to Itachi's chest. Sakura glanced up at him.

Itachi's lips eyes glinted in amusement at her clumsiness. "It's a good thing you're a medic. As clumsy as you are, you probably spend as much time healing yourself as you do on your patients," he said jokingly.

Sakura looked up at him, trying to see if he was still angry. She took a deep breath and started the speech she had worked out not too long ago. "Itachi...I'm not sorry. I would be lying if I said I was, and I don't want to lie to you. It scared the shit out of me when you activated the Sharingan. I remembered that you're a very deadly person. I know you wouldn't hurt Mai or Shin, but the fear was still there. I know I should trust you more. I'm trying to, but it's going to be a while before I can trust you unconditionally again. You hurt me so bad, Itachi.I jus-" Sakura's words were cut short as Itachi placed his finger over her lips.

"I know, Sakura. I don't blame you for not trusting me. That's why I'm not angry. I deserve the mistrust in you. I can't say I would take it back, because it brought us Mai and Shin. But I will say I'm sorry for hurting you like I did," Itachi said softly. He bent his head slowly towards Sakura. As their lips touched, they both felt a jolt of awareness run through them. Itachi pulled Sakura close to him and deepened the kiss. As Itachi ran his hands over the petite woman in his arms, she moaned quietly and ran her hands through his hair. Just then, a knock at the front door sounded, breaking them apart.

While Itachi went to answer the door, Sakura went upstairs to the nursery to check on the twins. Mai was sleeping soundly, but her brother was crying. Sakura picked him up and nursed him, then changed his diaper and rocked him until he was asleep. As she put Shin into his crib, she noticed Itachi and Naruto standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Sakura! I just wanted to stop by and see how you were. I have big news, too!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Well, go on! What's the big news, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Me and Hinata are getting MARRIED!" he all but screamed.

Sakura was hugging him the next moment, happy for her friend. The next hour or so was spent discussing the wedding plans and so on. Naruto got up to see the twins. As he picked Mai up, he caught himself wishing he and Hinata had a baby. Sakura, a pro at reading her teammate's emotions, smiled. "One day soon, Naruto. You and Hinata will have a family, too," Sakura said softly. Naruto smiled and nodded.

After the yellow-haired ninja had left, Itachi caught Sakura by the hand and dragged her to their bedroom. He gently pushed her onto the bed and started kissing her like passionately. Sakura laughed softly when he finally let her breathe. "Itachi, we can't. What about the twins? And you haven't eaten dinner yet," Sakura finished with a gasp as Itachi began kissing her neck.

"Dinner can wait. The twins are asleep. Now's our only chance, Sakura," he said. Itachi crept slowly on top of his pink haired blossom. Sakura trembled as the memory of being raped flashed before her eyes.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'm different this time," Itachi whispered into her ear. **[I'm not going to mess with Masked Itachi's lemon.]**

Sakura slowly calmed down and she eventually stopped trembling. Itachi sensed the quivering in her body had ceased. Itachi eased slowly to the delicate lips of Sakura and waited for permission to enter. Sakura reached under Itachi's cloak and began to rub his masculine body. This was all the acknowledgment Itachi needed; he opened his eyes and inserted his tongue into her mouth and wrapped it around Sakura's. Sakura moaned as she felt Itachi's warm tongue slide down her throat. Itachi rubbed Sakura's firm breast as she rubbed on his abs. Sakura rubbed lower and lower until she found his throbbing, erect member. The feeling of Sakura's soft hands made Itachi twitch as he released a low moan. Sakura exited the Uchiha's mouth and with a look of innocence on her face, she flipped on top of Itachi using her brute strength. She kissed the surprised shinobi on his neck. In a impatient manner, she ripped the cloak off of Itachi, revealing a tone, tanned body with battle scars and a hard member filling out her boxer briefs.

"Itachi-kun, you've grown since last time," said Sakura, removing her clothes.

"No, just this time you've actually seen it," replied Itachi, staring at the now naked Sakura with a grin.

Sakura steadily kissed her way down Itachi's body. He moaned with every touch of her gentle lips. She slipped Itachi's head out from inside his boxer briefs and began to lick it like a popsicle. Itachi released a moan as shockwaves of pleasure ran up his spine. Sakura stuffed Itachi's full length into her mouth as she moaned at the taste of it. The vibrations of Sakura's moan increased the waves of pleasure engulfing Itachi as he rubbed his fingers through Sakura's silky pink hair. Sakura thrusted the hard member deep down her throat. Itachi pulled her head further onto it while he arced in pleasure. Sakura gagged at first but pretty quickly found a pleasurable motion for Itachi and herself. Itachi, wrapped in pleasure, thrust in rhythm with her motion. As he near his peak, Itachi signaled for Sakura to stop. Sakura pulled the solid member out of her throat and mouth, then paused to see what action Itachi was going to take. Itachi stood up and laid Sakura on the bed. He made a quick hand seal pattern.

"Wha-what are you doing Itachi-kun?" asked Sakura.

Itachi, not saying a word, closed his eyes as he began to kiss each inch of Sakura's body. He paused. Wet and overwhelmed in anticipation, Sakura began to get impatient again. Itachi resumed kissing Sakura's form where he stopped. He worked his way lower and lower until he heard screams of pleasure erupt from Sakura. He had found her sweet spot. Itachi continued toying with Sakura's spot until she was gasping for air. He open his eyes and then the two where soaring through the sky on a soft cloud. Sakura, mesmerized by the sight and the tongue of Itachi, fell into a state of ecstasy. Sakura, almost in tears, released a stream of fluid. Itachi, nearly hit by the fluids, grinned at the pink haired kunoichi.

"Now to really pleasure you," whispered Itachi into Sakura's ear.

Sakura stared as she gritted her teeth, she then gestured for Itachi to take her body on a journey of pleasure. Itachi snuggled himself between the thighs of the already pleasure stricken Sakura. Itachi then slipped his erect member between her tight, wet lips. Sakura clawed Itachi's back as she released a low whimper. Itachi yelled out in pleasure from the pain. He slowly thrusted his full length in to her warm delicate body. Sakura arched in pain, which soon became pleasure. Itachi, now thrusting vigorously, closed his eyes, moaning each time Sakura tensed and clamped on his erect member. When he opened his eyes, they began to fall, enhancing both their pleasure. Sakura, struggling to keep her breath, began to mimic Itachi's rhythm. She reached her final peak and released a loud wail of pleasure. Shortly after, Itachi reached his. With one giant thrust, Itachi yelled and blew his load into the gasping Sakura. The two ninja fell from the sky kissing and landed back into the bedroom from which they started.

Exhausted, Sakura lay in Itachi's arms and smiled as he softly kissed her. Just as the two were drifting into sleep, they heard a baby's wail. Itachi told Sakura to stay put, and he went to the nursery. He picked both babies up and carried them to his and Sakura's room. After Sakura had taken care of the babies' needs, she and Itachi laid the twins down between them and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lemon that doesn't fit the rest of the style was written by my best friend. I was too much of a blushing virgin to write a lemon at that point. Haha


	4. A Wedding and a Funeral, Part One

**Chapter Four:**

**Part One**

**A Wedding and a Funeral**

* * *

**+I Do Not Own Naruto!+**

Hinata opened her eyes and smiled. _'I'm getting_ married! _I can't believe it! I've waited for this day for so long.'_ She turned on her side and looked at the man who made her life complete. In sleep, his face was more boyish and the whisker-marks on his cheeks were less visible. A soft snore escaped his lips and Hinata giggled. She poked Naruto in his side and squeaked when his arm came up behind her and pulled her close to him.

Naruto opened one eye and looked at his soon-to-be wife. _'I can't believe she still blushes after so long. It's cute.'_ Naruto thought with a smile.

"Come on, Hinata. We have to go get ready for this afternoon," Naruto said softly.

Hinata smiled and kissed Naruto on the cheek, then got out of bed and went to shower. Naruto gazed after her longingly. Though they slept in the same bed, Hinata wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. It almost killed Naruto, but if Hinata thought it was important, then so did he. He smiled as she glanced back at him and blushed.

Naruto slowly rose out of bed and made his way to his own shower and hopped in. After he showered and dressed, he ambled downstairs to where Hinata was being forcibly removed from the kitchen by Kurenai, Ino, TenTen, and Temari. As he got closer, he heard the girls arguing.

"Hinata, it's your wedding day. We came to pamper you...so let us!" Ino exclaimed.

"B-but I don't want to be pampered! I w-want to fix Naruto-kun b-breakfast," Hinata said to the girls.

Naruto stepped into the room and looked at the girls. "You heard the woman. She wants to make me breakfast! What flavor ramen today, Hinata?" Naruto's eager face made the group of kunoichi burst into fits of giggling.

"He _still_ eats ramen all the time?" asked a bemused Temari.

This made the other girls laugh harder. Hinata blushed as she tried to get to the kitchen. The laughing kunoichi grasped Hinata by the hands and drug her to the door. Naruto heard a muffled 'Bye, Naruto!' and something about a spa day, then the girls were out of earshot. Naruto smiled as he walked to the kitchen to make his ramen. As he went through the familiar routine of making instant ramen, he made a mental list of things to do.

_Okay...first, go by Shikamaru's and talk to Gaara. He can help me out with my nerves...maybe. Then, go by Sakura and Itachi's to ask Itachi about...well...sex. I never did pay attention to the Pervy Sage when he tried to teach me the 'ways of love'. Yeah right. Like he even knows. Anyways, then I have to go meet with Kakashi-sempai at Hokage Tower and get ready._

Naruto felt a sudden shiver of dread, like something drastic was going to happen. He shook it off, though, thinking it was just pre-marriage jitters. Afterwards, he would wish he had listened to that little niggle of forewarning.

* * *

When Itachi stepped out of the shower, the sight that met his eyes left him breathless. Sakura was standing there in a tank top and a pair of shorts so short, he decided then and there that he would be the only one to ever see her in them. Itachi's eyes traveled up her body, finally resting on her face. Only then did he notice she had been brushing her teeth, and she was now washing her face. Eyes closed, she flung her hand out to the towel rack, only to find there was no towel. Itachi grabbed the one that was around his waist and pushed it into her hands. She dried her face and turned to thank him, but the words died in her throat. She gaped at his nakedness then began to smile as she noticed that he was aroused.

"Itachi, we can't. Seriously. We're going to have to leave in a little while. We don't have time to fool around," Sakura said as Itachi took a step closer, her gaze slipping down his body to his erect member. Itachi smirked as he took a step closer to her.

"I don't believe you've had a shower yet, Sakura. Surely you need one before the wedding," Itachi said lowly. In an instant, he was in front of Sakura and grasped her by the hands. He began to slowly lead her to the shower, shedding her clothes as they went. When they reached the shower, Itachi pushed Sakura against the wall as he turned the water on. As the warm spray hit them, Itachi began to kiss Sakura, slowly moving from her lips to her neck, then down to her chest. He kissed her nipple then drew it into his mouth, sucking on it and softly biting it just to hear Sakura moan. He kissed his way to her other breast, repeating the actions.

Sakura thrust her fingers into Itachi's hair, moaning loudly as he bit her nipple roughly. Itachi kissed and licked his way down her torso, pausing to dip his tongue into into her navel. Sakura gasped at the unexpectedly erotic sensation. He sank to his knees and began torturing Sakura with his tongue. He thrust his tongue into her suddenly, causing an unexpected orgasm.

Sakura let out a short scream, quickly muffled by her hand, as her hips bucked against his tongue. She pulled Itachi up by his hair and kissed him, pushing away from the wall and spinning them around so that Itachi's back was to the wall. She kissed and nipped his neck, making her way to his chest. She licked his nipple, then suddenly bit down, making Itachi groan as heat flooded his body and his desire grew even stronger.

The pinkette made her way down to Itachi's large erection. She ran her tongue slowly up his shaft, then suddenly engulfed the head in her mouth. Itachi groaned as he felt himself slide into Sakura's hot mouth and down her tight throat. His hips began thrusting and Sakura hummed against the head of his member, causing his hips to jerk and a low moan to escape his throat. As he neared his peak, he pulled her away and into his arms, then turned them around and pushed her roughly to the wall. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him, opening herself to him more. He thrust roughly into her, biting back a groan as he felt her muscles contract around him. He set a fast pace and soon Sakura reached her peak. Itachi kept pumping into her, upping the pace and roughness until Sakura finally came again. As her walls tightened around him, he let go and thrust once more, burying himself as deep as he could as he reached his own peak.

**###########**

Naruto entered the Uchiha house and called out for Itachi. When he got no answer, he walked through the house looking for Itachi. As he walked up the stairs, he heard a scream. He ran up the stairs and burst into the room he heard the scream from, then stopped short. Itachi had Sakura pinned to wall, about to thrust into her. Sakura had her arms around Itachi's neck, whimpering a bit. Shock evident on his face, Naruto blushed as he took in the scene. He blushed even more when he realized he was getting turned on. He turned around and left the house as quickly as he could. As he made his way to his house, he kept thinking about what he had seen. _So...that's where that goes. Huh. I never would've thought about that._

Naruto really knew almost nothing about sex and procreation. He had ignored Jaraiya's attempts to explain it all, saying he already knew. ...He didn't. He was just embarrassed by the fact that he _didn't_ know anything. And so, he was going into his marriage with no sexual knowledge except for the times he had seen pictures in Kakashi's Icha Icha books and what he had just seen in Itachi and Sakura's bathroom.

**###########**

After their quickie, Itachi washed his and Sakura's bodies and rinsed them, making sure to linger in a few choice places just to hear the kunoichi moan. He grabbed the towel he had given Sakura earlier and dried them off, then rushed Sakura to the bedroom.

"Hurry, Sakura. We're going to be late," Itachi said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. If you hadn't insisted on a shower, we would've been on time. And I told you we needed to hurry! Did you listen? No! Now we're going to be late to my best friend's wedding!" Sakura ranted.

"...I thought Ino was your best friend," came the amused reply.

"My other best friend! My best guy friend! Whatever!" Sakura yelled, upset at the fact they were running late.

Itachi shrugged his jacket on, then walked over to where Sakura was trying to zip up her dress. He zipped it for her, then turned her around and kissed her lips slowly. "Stop worrying, Sakura. We'll make it in time. Just settle down and help me with my tie," he said to her, trying to ease her agitation.

Sakura untied the knot he had purposely made and fixed the tie. She looked up at Itachi and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Itachi. I just get so worked up sometimes. I need to be brought back to reality," she said softly.

"Anytime, Angel," he said as he kissed her cheek, using the nickname he had adopted for her.

Sakura made a face. "I don't know why you call me Angel. I'm anything but one. Everyone at the hospital is afraid of me. Even Tsunade on a bad day," she told Itachi with a grin.

Itachi smiled a bit and ushered Sakura out the door.

On the way to the wedding, they stopped by the daycare to check on Mai and Shin. Sakura's parents had kept them for the night, then dropped them off at the daycare for shinobi children on their way to the wedding.

* * *

After the girls had 'kidnapped' Hinata, they had taken her to a spa. They made her go through every pampering treatment there. She had a full-body wrap, a facial, a pedicure and manicure, and a massage. Since Hinata was so shy, one of the girls was with her all the time to make sure she didn't have a panic attack.

After the spa ordeal was over, Ino took Hinata's hand and pulled her through Konoha to the best dressmaker in the village to pick up Hinata's wedding dress. Unbeknownst to the Hyuuga heiress, Ino had ordered some lingerie to be made for Hinata to wear on the honeymoon. Ino hid an evil smirk at the thought of Naruto's face when he saw his new wife wearing the things Ino had designed herself.

As the dressmaker draped the layers of the traditional kimono over Hinata, Kurenai and the other girls watched in rapt fascination as the shy kunoichi was transformed into a woman so beautiful, it shocked them all to realize that this was what hidden beneath Hinata's shy exterior.

"Hinata, you're beautiful. Naruto's going to be knocked for six when he sees you," Kurenai said to her secretly favorite student.

"Yeah, Hinata. He's gonna be speechless!" TenTen said to the now-blushing bride-to-be.

Ino hid a grin and asked the dressmaker to bring out the lingerie. Hinata gasped so suddenly she started to choke. When the dressmaker brought it out, all the girls crowded around, marveling at the designs. Every piece had a small red fox embroidered on it. Hinata looked at it all and blushed, thinking about Naruto's reaction. She knew she was driving him crazy by not letting them have sex, but she had been raised to value her innocence. She had had it drilled into her from childhood that it was best to wait until marriage, and that was what she was going to do. That didn't mean she didn't fantasize. Oh she had plenty of 'bad' thoughts. Especially when she saw a shirtless Naruto training. She thought he was just so sexy. Embarrassed by her own thoughts, Hinata began to blush.

Her wedding kimono on and paid for, and her lingerie safely tucked away in an inconspicuous box, Hinata made her way to Hokage Tower, where the wedding was to take place.

* * *

After Naruto reached his house, he hurried through a shower and quickly shaved. He rushed through the house gathering his clothes from various places and quickly threw them on. Once he was dressed, he grabbed his kunai pack and raced out the door. At Kakashi's house, he burst into the man's bedroom. Naruto's eyes widened and a sound of disbelief escaped his throat.

"K...Kakashi-sempai? ...What are you DOING?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi's eyes...er...eye...widened dramatically as he realized that his secret was out. "Naruto, it's not as bad as it looks. Just...shut the door and I'll explain."

Naruto, still in shock, shut the door. He lifted a finger and pointed at the third person in the room. "What's SHE doing here? Are you crazy? She'll KILL you!"

"Shut up, you little brat. It's not my fault you almost got killed. You walked into my training area. I was just...defending myself," Tayuya said, pulling the bedsheets to cover her nakedness.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.

"I was coming to see if you could help me with my vows. I guess you're too busy," Naruto said lowly.

Kakashi grabbed his pants from the end of the bed and pulled them on, running to catch up with his student.

"Naruto, just wait a minute. I know it was wrong to keep this a secret, but I didn't think you would accept Tayuya. We've been together for about a year now. I'm sorry I kept it from you, but given her past involvement with Orochimaru and Sasuke, I thought it would be best to keep you in the dark," said the ruffled Jounin.

"So, what? Is she good now? Or is she just looking for a no-strings lay? Is sex worth that much to you that you put the whole village in danger?" Naruto screamed at the man he had looked up to as a father for so long.

"Naruto, she's no longer associated with Sound. She's been a Konoha citizen for over a year And...I love her," Kakashi said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Naruto looked shocked as he took in what Kakashi had said. He gave a short, barking laugh. "Love? She's not capable of loving anyone but herself! I used to think you were the greatest, Kakashi-sempai. Almost as great as the Old Man (Third Hokage). But you're just dumb if you think that she's loyal to Konoha," he said as he turned away from the Copy Nin.

Kakashi watched with a heavy heart as Naruto left, knowing he had lost the respect of his youngest student.

**###########**

It was actually funny how Kakashi and Tayuya met. He had been in the Forest of Death, training a new ninja dog, when he heard a thump and loud curses. Naturally, he went to investigate. He found Tayuya sitting on the ground with a definitely pissed-off look on her face. She cursed again and reached underneath her and pulled out her flute.

"Stupid damn flute. Now I'm gonna have a damned bruise on my ass. This is the last time I ever try to sleep in a damn tree," she muttered. When she heard a twig crack, her head shot up and she glared at the sight that met her eyes. "Great. A Konoha Jounin. Kill me now so I don't have to face that smug little bastard, Shikamaru. He just won't let me live it down that he beat me. He didn't even beat me! It was that Suna bitch," Tayuya ranted.

Kakashi laughed at the look on her face. He walked to her and sat down on the ground next to the red haired ninja. "What are you doing here, Tayuya? You're supposed to be with the Sound Four aren't you?"

Tayuya made a sound of derision. "Them? They kicked me out because I wouldn't let the stupid Uchiha brat kill an innocent villager just because his cart was in the road in front of Sasuke. They called me a washout and said to get the hell out of Sound or they'd kill me. And I value my life a good bit, thank you," she said.

Kakashi smiled a bit and kept talking to the girl. He found out that she wasn't too much younger than him. They had a lot in common, including a love for dogs. Tayuya laughed when he told he had every copy of Icha Icha Paradise, every movie, and every poster hidden away in his home. She said she had never seen the latest movie and he jumped on the excuse to invite her to his place.

After the movie had been watched and they both had eaten their fill of take-out, Kakashi asked what Tayuya was going to do now that she was no longer a Sound ninja.

She thought about for a minute, then finally said, "I don't know. Maybe I can seek refuge here for a little while. Plan out what I'm going to do from now on."

Kakashi looked at her thoughtfully and said slowly, "Well, you could...uh...you could live here while you plan that out. It's not much, but it's better than most of the cheap motels around here."

Tayuya looked surprised at the offer. She looked away sheepishly. "I hope you don't think you're going to get laid...yet," she added under her breath.

The next morning, Tayuya woke up on Kakashi's couch. She heard him rummaging around in the kitchen and smelled something burning. She shot off the couch and into the kitchen, expecting to see the stove on fire. She was shocked to see Kakashi actually _cooking_ breakfast. ...Well...maybe _trying to cook_ would be the proper term. Tayuya scoffed at his poor cooking skills and snatched the frying pan from him. She peered down at it, trying to figure out what in the _world_ he had been trying to make.

"I'm making bacon and eggs. Give me back my skillet," Kakashi said in a belligerent tone.

"I thought you were trying to _burn_ the _house_ down. Give me the spatula," she said with a glare when he tried to protest. She emptied the burnt...something...into the trash and started over. She cooked the bacon perfectly and then fried the eggs just right. Kakashi stared in wonder at what she had cooked.

"...I think I just fell in love," he said with a grin.

After they ate, the two made their way to Hokage Tower. Tsunade was in a generous mood (...she was drunk) and granted Tayuya citizenship in Konoha. She was on probation, though. For one year, she couldn't leave the village or have a ninja rank, and after the year was up, she would have to take all the ninja exams over again. She didn't mind. At least she was alive.

About three months into the strange relationship, Kakashi came home one day to find Tayuya sitting cross-legged on his bed. She smiled at his confused expression and motioned for him to come closer. He swallowed hard and made his way slowly to the bed. When he was close enough, Tayuya grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed beside her. His eyes opened wide when she flipped him onto his back and ripped his clothes off. The rest of the night was filled with moans and other sounds of pleasure as the two ninja explored each others' bodies.

A month or two later, Tayuya found out she was pregnant. Not knowing what to do, she sought out the Hokage. Tsunade decided it was best to keep it a secret, due to Tayuya's association with Orochimaru, the Sound Four, and Sasuke's betrayal. Until she began to show, the former Sound nin stayed with Kakashi. She had decided to keep it a secret from him, too. They hadn't even formally said they were a couple. She was his 'dirty little secret'.

When the baby got too big to hide under large clothes, Tsunade had Tayuya moved to a private, isolated wing in the Hokage Tower. She told everyone it was because she wanted to keep a personal eye on the girl, due to suspicions of continued contact with Sound. Which was a lie, of course. But, no matter how hard they tried, Kakashi found out. He was raging mad when he burst into Tayuya's bedroom in the Tower, but seeing her standing in front of the mirror, looking at how big her belly was with his child growing inside her, every angry word vanished from his mind. He shut the door and walked over to her.

He placed his hand gently on her belly and kissed her cheek. His eyes widened as he felt the baby kick. He dropped to his knees in front of her and pressed his lips to her skin. "Hello in there, little one," he said. A few seconds later, he jumped back and stared up at Tayuya's amused face. "It kicked me!" he said.

The red-haired girl just laughed. "Now you know a little of how I feel. This is one active baby. Sometimes it feels as if it's running in circles," she said in an amused voice. He smiled up at her and rose up to kiss her gently on the lips.

He moved in with her the next day. They lived in peace for the next few months, with Kakashi rushing home every day to make sure Tayuya wasn't putting too much strain on herself and Tayuya yelling at Kakashi for worrying too much. Until one night, when she wasn't there when he got home. He immediately knew the baby was coming and rushed to the hospital. When he got there, he saw Tayuya sobbing and the nurses looking somber. One nurse took a wrapped bundle into her arms and walked out of the room. His heart dropped as he realized what had happened. He felt tears in his eyes and went to Tayuya. He laid down next to her and shared in the grief of losing their first child.

In the end, the experience made them stronger. It brought them closer together and inspired them to get married, a thing Tsunade thought was a long time overdue. Slowly, they moved on and continued with their lives. Kakashi went on taking missions, and Tayuya got a job at the nursery. Being around the babies and small children reminded her of her lost child, but also gave her hope that she and Kakashi would have a family in the future.

**###########**

Kakashi made his way back to the bedroom. He grabbed his tux and made his way to the bathroom for a shower. Tayuya joined him and they took turns washing each others' bodies.

Tayuya weighed her options for a minute and finally decided to tell her husband something that she had found out the day before. "Kakashi...I'm pregnant. Again," she said lowly.

Kakashi jerked around to face her and croaked out, "How long have you known?"

"I just found out yesterday. I'm so afraid this will turn out like last time," she confessed as she began to cry.

Kakashi wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "I don't think it will, baby. I think this time will be different," he said, trying to comfort her.

They finished their shower and got dressed for the wedding. They made their way to Hokage Tower to wait for the ceremony to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you guys don't like the Kakashi/Tayuya. Not entirely sure why I like it, but it's my crack-pairing indulgence. Haha


	5. A Wedding and a Funeral, Part Two

**Chapter Five**

**A Wedding and a Funeral**

**Part Two**

**!+ I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! +!**

* * *

"Itachi, go on. I'll be there as soon as I can get the twins to calm down," Sakura told the raven-haired man.

Looking distinctly uncomfortable with the proposition, Itachi nodded and kissed Sakura and the twins then left.

Sakura watched him disappear then turned to Mai and Shin. The two were putting up such a fuss that Sakura just couldn't leave them. No matter what she tried, the two just wouldn't settle down. She tried rocking them, feeding them, playing with them; nothing would make them stop fussing. Sakura gave up and, reluctantly, cast a sleep genjutsu on Mai and Shin. They fell asleep almost immediately. Sakura sighed regretfully. She hadn't wanted to resort to genjutsu, but the twins were going to make themselves sick. Sakura tucked Shin into his crib and made sure he couldn't get hurt by anything, then did the same for Mai.

She walked to the back room to get some extra supplies to replace the ones she had used. As she grabbed some diapers, she heard a distant boom and screams. She ran to the front room and saw chaos spreading. She looked towards Mai and Shin and felt relief spread through her as she saw Itachi standing over them. As she took a step closer, her heart stopped beating, then pounded into overdrive.

_**"Saku-chan...That's not Itachi-kun. That's...Sasuke!"**_ Inner said.

Sakura's blood ran cold as she saw Sasuke pick up Shin. When she saw his lips move, she channeled chakra to her ears to extend her hearing range and pick up what he was saying.

"I didn't expect there to be two to choose from. I guess I'll just take the male, then. Females are too much trouble. Say hello to your new daddy...Takeo," Sasuke said to the sleeping infant.

Sakura felt her anger spike. _"He's NOT taking my son!"_

_**"Saku-chan! Let me help. I won't have to take over. We can work together,"**_ Inner said.

_"Okay, Inner-chan. Let's get the bastard and make him regret even_ thinking _about taking our son!" Sakura said to Inner._

As Inner merged with Sakura, her hair began to change colors. It became pink with black streaks. Her eyes turned black with green rings. The faint outline of the kanji for 'Inner' appeared on her forehead. Her fingernails became black with pink edges and silver designs.

Sakura took a second to look at herself. _"Wow, Inner. I didn't know you had such a flair for fashion. This looks...nice,"_ Sakura said in an amazed tone.

_**"Of course.**_ **I** _ **actually paid attention when Ino tried to get us to dress nicer,"**_ Inner scoffed.

Sakura shook her head to refocus herself. She saw Sasuke turn to leave, and she ran after him.

Sasuke walked to the door to report back to Orochimaru. A few steps away, a figure appeared in front him. At first, he didn't recognize her, but a few seconds later, her image registered in his mind. "Hello, Sakura. Been a long time, huh?" he asked in a sadistic voice with a hint of a hiss.

"Give me my son. NOW. Or I promise, you will regret it," Sakura said, her voice echoed by Inner's.

Sasuke looked slightly taken aback by the fact that Sakura wasn't the same Sakura anymore. After a second, he smirked. "Catch me if you can, little blossom," he said as he took a step towards the door. Sakura was before him in a flash, preventing him from escaping. He activated his Sharingan and attempted to outmaneuver her. No matter where he moved, though, Sakura always blocked him. He finally got angry and laid Shin down, then began to seriously fight.

As he began the hand seals for his Fire Style jutsu, Inner took over Sakura's hands. She made quick hand seals in a series that Sakura had never seen. As Inner finished the seals, Sakura felt a change in her body. It felt like nothing she had ever felt before. Time slowed as Sasuke finished his hand seals and took a deep breath. As his breath left his body, it changed into flames that washed over Sakura. Instead of burning her, the flames entered her body, like they were being absorbed. As the last of the flames entered her, Sakura felt her chakra expand. Then, of their own volition, her hands began the seals of the fire jutsu Sasuke had just used.

_"Inner, what are you doing?"_ Sakura asked.

_**"It's not me. It's the jutsu I used. Anything Sasuke tries to do to you, anything that requires chakra, will be absorbed into our body. After it's absorbed, we learn how to use it by performing it. It's very neat, actually. And rarely used. Nobody knows the correct series of seals. I've been dying to try it out since I saw it in Tsunade-sama's books,"**_ Inner explained.

Sakura's hands completed the seals and she took a deep breath, then breathed out to release a stream of flames that nearly scorched Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes and took some kunai and shuriken from his weapons pouch. He threw them, then pulled the strings attached to them to tie Sakura to a support beam. He secured the strings using kunai and began the hand seals for the Chidori.

Inner smirked. _**"He really is a dumbass, isn't he?"**_ Sakura snorted in agreement.

As he neared her, Sakura could see his Sharingan blazing a furious red. Sasuke thrust his hand into Sakura, aiming at her heart. The Chidori was absorbed into her body and his hand stopped at her skin. Using her insane strength, Sakura broke the strings tying her to the beam. She shoved Sasuke away and started the Chidori hand seals. She formed the Chidori and ran at Sasuke, her figure literally blurring from her speed. Suddenly appearing in front of the young Uchiha, she aimed for his heart and thrust her hand. It came to no surprise when she hit the wall instead of flesh. She turned around quickly and scanned the room for Sasuke. Hearing something behind her, she turned and looked straight into Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan. Amazingly, Sakura wasn't pulled into the world of torture. Somehow, her jutsu absorbed the attack on her mind, too.

Sakura felt the nerves and chakra pathways in her eyes changing. Her vision became sharper, clearer. She could see _everything_. Sasuke emitted an involuntary gasp at the sight of Sakura's green eyes turning red, then fading to a glowing pink.

_"Pink Sharingan? How is that even possible?"_ he thought to himself.

_"Inner, what's going on? What happened?"_ Sakura asked.

_**"You now possess the Sharingan, albeit pink instead of red. This is amazing. I didn't know the jutsu worked for doujutsu as well as genjutsu and ninjutsu. I wonder what Itachi will say?"**_ Inner said.

Sasuke, now over his shock, charged Sakura with his sword. She moved at the last second and slipped the blade. Grabbing a kunai in each hand, Sakura calculated. A few seconds later, plan intact, she charged Sasuke. When he brought his sword up to slice at her, she backflipped and threw the kunai. She did a quick series of hand seals and laid a genjutsu. Sasuke found himself tied to a wooden post. Sakura walked up to him and slapped him, hard, in the face. Using her chakra strength, she punched him in the gut, then started beating on him. When Sasuke finally succumbed to unconsciousness, Sakura released the genjutsu and looked down at where her old crush lay, broken and bleeding.

Sakura tied Sasuke up, then tied him to a beam. She hurried over to check on the twins. Still under the effect of Sakura's earlier genjutsu, neither of them were awake. Checking them over, Sakura was relieved to find nothing wrong with either of them. She gently placed them in their cribs and went back to the young Uchiha. Grabbing him by the collar, she started dragging him. Once she was far enough away from the twins, Sakura did a jutsu to transport both of them to Hokage Tower.

* * *

Itachi paced a few feet away from the door to the roof. _What is taking so long? She should've been back by now. Surely Mai and Shin aren't sick or something..._

Itachi paced a bit more, then looked around. The Konoha men were standing in a group talking, and a little ways away, so were the women. They were all enjoying their own little conversations when Naruto walked onto the roof. He continued straight to Tsunade and the Village Elders without a single glance at Kakashi's group. Itachi quirked one of his eyebrows at that, but let it go. When Naruto had made it to Tsunade, she called for the guests to be seated.

When they were, Tayuya began a slow song on her flute. Gaara escorted Kurenai under the arch that had been constructed for the wedding. Choji and Ino were next, followed by Shikamaru and Temari. Finally, Neji and Hanabi made their way to the altar, then split up like the couples before them to stand on either side of the raised altar where the bride and groom were to stand. Tayuya began the Wedding March and everyone stood and turned to see the bride. A collective gasp went up when the guests saw Hinata, being escorted by Hiashi. Hinata blushed and smiled. She felt so beautiful! She turned her eyes to Naruto, who looked as if he had been sucker-punched.

_'Oh, my Kami. She looks like an angel. Surely I don't deserve her. I'm a demon! Well, a jinchuuriki anyways. She deserves so much better than me.'_ Naruto thought.

_**'Then don't screw this up, boy. Treat her like a queen and take care of her and your kids. Be faithful to her. Love her like no other can. Make her happy. Don't you know ANYTHING, boy?'**_ Kyuubi said with a snort of derision.

Naruto thought for a minute and nodded to himself. He would take Kyuubi's advice and try to keep Hinata as happy as possible.

The bride and her father made their way to the altar. Hiashi turned his daughter to face him a few steps from Naruto.

"Is this truly what you want, Hinata? Are you going to be happy?" Hiashi asked her.

"Y-yes, Father. This is what I want. Naruto will m-make me very h-happy," Hinata said to her dad.

Hiashi sighed and kissed her forehead. "Well then. Let's get you married, shall we?"

They smiled and turned to Tsunade and the others. Hiashi gave Hinata away and walked to his reserved spot in the front row. Tsunade started off the ceremony, but when the part came to object or forever hold your peace, a loud explosion rocked the tower. Screams pierced the tranquil afternoon, effectively ruining the wedding-in-progress. The ninja were immediately ready for battle, having worn their weapon and item pouches, but hiding them with their clothing. Hinata began to have a panic attack. Everyone scattered in an effort to stave off the attack. Kurenai stayed behind to make sure Hinata would be okay. Tsunade made her way to her office to hide all the most important documents. Kakashi and the other Jounin raced to the site of the explosion, only to stop short in shock at the sight of Orochimaru's massive summon, the giant purple snake Manda. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood atop Manda's head.

Ibiki, Anko, Genma, Kotetsu, Izumo, and four complete squads of ANBU stood at the ready to defend their village. Even more Jounin and Chuunin stood behind the ANBU, also ready. Jiraiya appeared out of nowhere, prepared to battle Orochimaru. Said snake-man dashed off, Jiraiya close on his heels. The battle began between the Konoha ninja and the Sound ninja, Ibiki and Anko commanding the Leaf nin, while Kabuto yelled orders to the Sound nin. There was bloodshed and screams, lives lost and ruined, but the Konoha ninja prevailed. Anko got bit by an enemy's snake and had to drop back to counteract the poison. Ibiki got hit by a jutsu that tried to warp his mind but, being who he was, it didn't have much effect on him. He was already pretty twisted anyways. Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo all suffered superficial kunai and shuriken wounds. The other ninja weren't so lucky. Some didn't have the knowledge of snakes and their poisons that Anko had. Some weren't as warp-minded as Ibiki. Some didn't have the speed and sheer luck that Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo had.

Tsunade finished secreting away her documents and went back to the roof. Once there, she was shocked to find Itachi standing beside Sakura. Still classified as a missing-nin, he had no right or reason to enter the battle. The Hokage noticed that Sakura had distinct physical differences than normal, so she assumed that she and Inner had merged. It took her a minute to realize that they were both standing over Sasuke. And arguing. She suddenly dodged, missing an attack by mere inches. Orochimaru smirked and jumped down in front of Tsunade, completely ignoring Itachi and Sakura. Jiraiya wasn't far behind his former team member, landing so that the three of them formed a triangle. Orochimaru lunged at Tsunade, who dodged and retaliated. Jiraiya attacked Orochimaru, who barely missed the attack. Tsunade saw an opening and punched Orochimaru with a chakra-enhanced fist, knocking him into the air. She followed him up and continued to hit and kick him. She punched him into the air and jumped above him, then front flipped and kicked the Sound leader in the head with a chakra-enhanced kick, knocking him into the concrete roof.

Jiraiya lifted Orochimaru by the collar and punched him in the stomach hard enough to cause the man to cough up blood. Sakura walked up and hit the tenketsu spot controlling chakra flow to the brain, effectively knocking Orochimaru out.

Jiraiya threw the unconscious man over his shoulder and went to the interrogation unit at the ANBU headquarters. Kakashi had already brought Kabuto over, along with some other Sound ninja that had refused to give up. The wounded had been transported to the hospital and the deceased had been taken to the morgue.

* * *

Sakura went with Naruto to visit Sasuke. He was shackled to a chair, yet looked as lethal as ever when he glared at them.

_'I am NOT thirteen anymore. I won't let him or his words affect me. I am stronger than he is. Itachi...well...I don't know if love is what he feels, but he cares about me and our children. Sasuke means nothing to me,'_ Sakura thought to herself.

_**'Hey, chick. You need a little bit of moral support right now?'**_ Inner asked.

_'Sure, Inner. Thanks. I could use the help,'_ Sakura said. As the two merged again, her appearance changed a bit. Now, her hair was black with pink streaks, she had a tattoo on her right shoulder in the shape of an interesting birthmark she had found on Itachi. It was shaped like the Mangekyou Sharingan, the only difference being that it was backwards. Her nails became pink edged in black with silver designs. Most astonishingly, she activated the Sharingan. It had changed somewhat, though. It was now pink with black specks and had thin slivers of silver mixed in.

Sasuke glared at Sakura as she walked into the room he was being held in. "Bitch. What the hell are you doing here, you slut? I won't have you, you know. You've tainted yourself with that bastard," he said.

Naruto growled and boxed Sasuke in the head. "Don't talk to her like that, asshole. At least she's loyal to her village and those who love her. That's a helluva lot more than anyone can say about you," he bit out.

Sasuke turned away from them and scoffed. "Who would want to be loyal to this loser village anyways? My master beat both of yours together by himself. Without the use of his arms," he said in a semi-childish voice, as if trying to brag.

The two _loyal_ leaf ninja rolled their eyes. ' _How immature,'_ they both thought.

Sasuke saw them roll their eyes and tried to lunge at them, but was repelled by an electrically charged chakra field around him. Even tied to his chair, he was still a serious threat. One that Tsunade wasn't willing to risk letting escape. Along with the chakra field around him, there were tags around the room that would detonate if he escaped his bonds. ANBU members were placed around the underground compound Sasuke was currently a _guest_ of. _IF_ he managed to escape the compound, there were more ANBU stationed around the village to keep watch for any escapees trying to run.

Sakura walked to Sasuke and punched him in the head, knocking him out. She let Inner take over from there, performing hand seals and channeling chakra to her hands. She placed her hands on Sasuke's temples, then let herself be sucked into his mind. Inner stayed in Sakura's body as a safeguard against any attacks.

As Sakura browsed Sasuke's mind, she saw just how insane he had become. Everything that was morally wrong to people like Sakura and Naruto was twistedly justified in Sasuke's mind. Everything was so psychotic that Sakura was astounded that he could even function. Sakura continued browsing the pathways in Sasuke's mind to look for information about Sound and anything else that could be of importance to the village. When she was done, she exited the younger Uchiha's mind. As she came back into her body, she saw that Naruto had fallen asleep, but Sasuke was awake and glaring at Sakura in a way that made her skin crawl. She nudged Naruto to wake him up, and the two ninja left the interrogation room. The two parted ways at the door, Naruto going to make sure Hinata was alright and Sakura rushing home to see the twins and their father.

Hinata was fine, just shaken up and a bit depressed that her perfect wedding day had been ruined.

Sakura walked through the front door and closed it quietly in case Mai and Shin were asleep. She trudged up the stairs, suddenly exhausted. She walked into the nursery and stopped short at the sight of Itachi laying on his stomach on a soft rug with Mai and Shin. He was _smiling_! A _real,_ joyful, warm smile. Her heart stuttered and her breath rushed out of her lungs. Itachi looked up at her, smile still on his face. She smiled back and joined her small family.

A few minutes of playing with the twins and making small talk went by. Itachi turned an assessing gaze on the kunoichi. Sakura glanced at him to see his scrutiny. "What is it, Itachi?"

Itachi grunted and looked away. A few minutes later, that same look was back in his eyes. "Sakura, I wish them to have my name."

Sakura turned startled emerald eyes to him. "What?"

Itachi let out a small sigh. "I wish the twins to have my name. To do so, you must be my wife."

Sakura gasped. "Are...are you serious, Itachi?"

The Uchiha merely grunted and leveled a stare at the dumbfounded kunoichi.

Throwing her arms around him, she said, "I...I accept, Itachi. I will become your wife." Sakura tried to be dignified about it, but three little words, four counting the name, slipped past her lips, unheeded by her brain. "I love you, Itachi." As soon as those three little words left her mouth, Sakura regretted them. It wasn't that she didn't love Itachi; she just didn't want to push him away. Itachi murmured something, but Sakura still heard it.

"I want to love you, Sakura. I don't think I'm truly capable of it anymore. My emotions were sealed away so long ago, I don't think they'll ever come back," Itachi said lowly.

When he felt hot tears on his neck, he knew Sakura had heard him. He tightened his hold on her and brushed his lips over her hair. Mai began to fuss, effectively breaking the spell. The lovers each picked up a baby, Mai with Itachi and Shin with Sakura, and the family went downstairs to the kitchen for supper. In the middle of the meal, an ANBU member burst into the house and frantically told them of the escape of two prisoners: Orochimaru and Sasuke. Itachi moved fluidly out of his chair and informed the ANBU member that he was going out with the search party. He kissed Sakura and left in a hurry. Sakura finished feeding the twins and finished her own meal then picked them up and placed them in their playpen. She sat down on the couch and flipped through the channels on the television, blissfully unaware of the glowing red eyes looking into her home.

**############**

Sasuke smiled an evil, twisted smile as he watched the useless ANBU running around, trying to find Orochimaru and himself. Orochimaru had wasted no time in fleeing the village, but hadn't bothered to see if Sasuke had followed. The insane Uchiha had stayed behind, intent on killing his brother and the two females then taking the male and raising him to be the perfect son. The boy would be the one to repopulate the Uchiha Clan. He would obey without question and do whatever Sasuke told him to. He used his ninja speed to beat the ANBU grunt to where Itachi was living. He faltered for a second when he saw that the lights in the main Uchiha dwelling were on. He landed on the roof he had lived under for 12 years and peeked in to see his brother calmly eating supper with that _whore_ of his and those two brats they had bred. He saw when Itachi left the house, leaving the three others alone and defenseless. He smiled. This was gonna be fun.

**############**

Sakura heard a blast echo from the farthest room to the back of the house upstairs. She instantly knew who it was. She cast a high-level genjutsu that even the Sharingan couldn't detect around Mai and Shin and rushed to the bookshelf beside the TV to get some weapons. Armed with twin katana, Sakura readied herself for battle. She didn't have to wait long. Sasuke came downstairs with blurring speed. He slammed his fist forward, trying to catch Sakura off guard. The kunoichi blocked with one katana and attacked with the other, slashing at Sasuke in an attempt to wound him. The Uchiha retreated and threw a kunai with an exploding tag at Sakura. She stabbed one sword into the ground and prepared to grab the kunai. As her determination to win was heightened, she felt her chakra rushing to her eyes again. Time seemed to slow as she took in her surroundings with her new sight. With it, she was able to pluck the kunai out air and whip it back to Sasuke so fast, he barely had time to move. Retreating as far as he could, his hands moved through a rush of seals so fast, Sakura could barely keep up.

Inner suddenly gasped and cursed. " _Sakura, get to the twins. Now! He's using a jutsu that I didn't think anyone else on earth knew about. It can track any living thing and instantly kill it, without warning and there is no possible way to save them. If you can get to the twins before he finishes the seals, I can hopefully counter it and send it back to him. But you have to be in front of them so that your heartbeat is noticed first."_

Sakura rushed to the genjutsu-hidden playpen and surrendered control to Inner. Her hands flew through seals similar to Sasuke's. She completed the seals a split second behind the Uchiha and felt the malevolent energy tracking her. As the last hand seal was made, Sakura felt a wash of power run through her, then it dissipated and seemed to surround her. The energy from Sasuke's jutsu hit Sakura's energy and was reflected back to Sasuke. Sakura heard the front door crash open and saw Itachi standing there, shocked to find his brother and his eventually-going-to-be wife battling.

Sasuke was distracted by his brother and didn't notice Sakura's return attack until it was too late. The energy hit him like a ton of bricks, crushing down on him and slowly killing him. His lungs felt constricted and his heart was bounding wildly in his chest. As he felt his life swiftly ebbing away, clarity returned to him. He looked to Itachi. "I...always...ha...hated you. You were...Father's...favorite...and I...resented you...for it. But...you'll alwa...always be...my big brother," he said in gasps. He turned to Sakura, who noticed that his eyes were clearer than they were in the interrogation room. It seemed his wits had returned just as his life was running out. "Saku..ra...I should've...been nicer...to you. I'm sor...sorry. And tell Dobe...that he was...my best friend," Sasuke said, his breathing becoming shallower.

Sasuke gasped as blood slowly filled his lungs. His hand twitched as he reached out to his brother. Sasuke smiled as his life faded away. His body fell forward onto the floor as his soul broke free from its shell.

_**A small boy wandered around in a bright void, searching for some sign of other life. He saw two figures in the distance and made his way there. The closer he got, the more he recognized them. "Mother? Father?" the child asked. The figures nodded and smiled. The boy ran to his parents and hugged them, so happy to be with them again. He looked around and saw the rest of his family, too. As the boy and his family were reunited, they slowly faded away.** _

Sakura watched as Itachi held his brother's lifeless body in his arms. Though his eyes were curiously shiny, he did not cry. Her own cheeks were covered in tears. She walked over to Itachi and cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder. When he didn't flinch away, she slowly wrapped her arms around him as they both mourned the youngest of the Uchiha brothers. Naruto burst through the door and stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of them, causing Tsunade and Ino to bump into him. He slowly walked to where his friend was cradled in the arms of the brother he had loved and hated for so long. His eyes filled with tears as he reached them. Sakura felt Naruto place his hand on her back, and she turned to him and burst into tears when his arms automatically encircled her. The two friends grieved over their fallen friend. Eventually, all of the Rookie Nine sensei, plus Gai, had gathered in Itachi and Sakura's home. Tsunade had called for a nurse from the hospital to come pick up the twins and take care of them for a few days while their parents mourned. Ino had left to round up the rest of the Konoha Twelve, plus the Sand Siblings. When Hinata showed up, Hanabi was with her. The younger Hyuuga sister reacted with surprising vigor, showing everyone that the girl had obviously held feelings for the boy.

The next day, Sasuke's funeral took place. Surprisingly, everyone in the village showed up. Tsunade said a few lines and the let Naruto take over the eulogy. He began by recounting childhood pranks that he and Sasuke had committed, eventually going into his betrayal of the village and, most importantly, his friends. He ended his speech by saying that, although Sasuke had left the village, he would always be considered a Leaf shinobi by those who held him in their hearts.

Sakura was next. She told how she had once loved Sasuke as though he were the very sun. She told how he, along with Naruto, had inspired her to be a better kunoichi. She ended her speech by saying that, although he had broken her heart, she would always love him like she loved Naruto, as a brother.

Itachi got up and spoke of Sasuke as a child. A few people thought it was odd how the man who had remorselessly killed his entire clan except Sasuke could mourn his little brother's passing. His speech was short but heartfelt, and many people were awed at the emotion that the 'cold, emotionless, stoic' Uchiha showed.

As the crowd started to dissipate, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Itachi walked to the Memorial Stone. Naruto had hassled Tsunade until she agreed to have Sasuke's name added to the long list of names. Itachi pulled Sakura close to him and wrapped his arms around her, silently promising himself that neither of his children, nor any that may come in the future, would ever feel like Sasuke had. Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist and felt his arms surround her. Naruto promised to himself that he would try as hard as he could to keep his future children from starting down the path Sasuke had become lost on.

The two couples finally parted ways as the last rays of sunshine touched them. None of them saw the shaft of light that landed on Sasuke's name, momentarily making it shine with a warm, bright glow. Itachi, though, heard Sasuke's voice drift through the twilight air on the wind.

_**Stay safe. Be happy. Don't forget.** _


	6. Visitors

**Chapter Six**

**Visitors**

**I don't own Naruto  
**

* * *

A tiny bell sounded as two figures approached the Konoha gates. One was tall, the other slightly shorter, and both wore straw hats. They both wore cloaks, black with red clouds, and standard shinobi sandals. At the gate, the guard tensed. The taller figure lifted his hand. A single thread shot out from the sleeve of his cloak to wrap around the guard's throat, strangling him within moments. The two continued into the village.

Itachi woke up the instant he felt the two familiar chakra signatures. He slipped out of bed silently, heading to the roof. He was leaning against a pole when the two figures approached him. "What are you two doing here? Leader said I have a year to spend with my family. It's only been a month and a half," Itachi said quietly.

The shorter figure flipped his hat off. "Well, hello to you, too, asshole. Damn. Can't even get a proper fucking welcome in this rinky-dink shit-hole village," Hidan said with a sneer.

The taller figure sighed as he took his hat off. "Shut UP, Hidan. We're here on official business, Itachi. Leader said he needs you back at base. We caught another bijuu and need you for the sealing. Leader said you can bring Sakura and the twins with you," Kakuzu said. When Itachi looked a bit surprised by the fact that he knew Sakura's name, he just smirked a bit. Zetsu had been keeping an eye on them; he had brought back any news he felt was relevant, including the names of Itachi's family.

Itachi nodded and motioned them to follow him. He waved them downstairs as he went to wake Sakura up. She was sitting up in bed, kunai in hand. She stood up when she saw him. He told her quietly to get dressed and come downstairs. He kissed her cheek and walked out the door.

Sakura hurriedly pulled on a skirt and a sleeveless shirt, then her boots and gloves. Lastly, her kunai and shuriken pouch. She calmly walked down the stairs, then into the living room. She sat on the couch beside Itachi.

"Start from the beginning," Itachi demanded.

"A week ago, Deidara and Sasori caught the five-tailed bijuu. Two days ago, Leader sent us out to come get you, since we need you for the sealing. He was in an amiable mood, so he said to let your family come, too," Kakuzu explained.

Sakura thought about it for a minute. She looked Kakuzu in the eye and asked, "When do we leave?"

Itachi breathed a silent sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure if Sakura would go.

"In the morning. First light. Be packed and waiting at the front door," Hidan said.

Sakura looked a bit uncomfortable. "Do you- I mean...would you like to stay here?"

All three men looked at her, surprised. Itachi nodded and looked at the other two. "You guys can sleep in the house next door."

Kakuzu was glad he didn't have to waste money on a rented room. Hidan was glad he didn't have to hear Kakuzu bitch about paying for said rented room.

The two exited the house, leaving Itachi and Sakura sitting there on the couch. Sakura stood up and said "Guess I need to pack our things."

He watched her walk upstairs, then stood up to follow after a moment. He found her in their room, packing some of her clothes and spare weapons in a duffel bag. He smiled when she packed a children's book. He stood in the doorway, just watching as she folded the clothes and placed them into the bag. She looked up and saw a strange expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Itachi?" Sakura asked softly.

Itachi snapped out of his inner musings. "Just thinking about a dream I had a while ago. Don't worry about it," he replied. The dream he was talking about was, in fact, the nightmares he had experienced until he had arrived in the village. He had just noticed a similarity between the nightmare and the current situation. In his nightmare, Sakura and the twins had been in a cave-like area. The Akatsuki's current base was an underground cave in Rain. That thought was enough to send a small shiver of dread down his spine.

Pushing the thoughts away, he walked over to Sakura and kissed her cheek. She smiled up at him and placed another shirt in the bag. She closed the first duffel bag, containing Itachi's clothes, and began to pack her own. She placed a few small mementos inside, just for memory's sake. A necklace that Naruto had gotten for her when she turned 17; a ribbon to replace the one Sakura had returned to Ino all those years ago; a field guide on medical jutsu Tsunade had given her when she finally finished the first of her medical training. A few more things went into the bag, then Sakura came upon a gift that made her cry and smile at the same time. It was a small stuffed bear. Looking at it, holding it, brought back the memories.

**############**

A young Sakura, about 10, was running through the streets of the village. It was time for the annual Konoha festival, and she was going to work up the courage to ask Sasuke to go with her. She finally reached his house and slowed her steps, gathering her courage. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. After a few seconds, the door opened and the boy of her dreams was standing at the door. He looked a bit impatient, so Sakura tried to say what she had to before she lost her nerve. In the end, it came out a half-stutter. "Hi, S-Sasuke. Would y-you like to g-go to the festival w-with me?" she asked quietly.

" _Great. You sounded like Hinata. He's going to think you're retarded or something,"_ Inner said snidely.

" _Shut up, Inner. I realize that. I'm doing the best I can!"_ Sakura retorted.

Sasuke looked at the girl standing on his porch. She looked like she was having an inner struggle, so he waited until she focused her gaze back on him. " _This is so annoying. I hate all these girls always coming up to me."_ he thought to himself.

When the pink-haired girl's attention was finally back on him, he said coldly, "No," and slammed the door in her shocked face. He stood there for a second, just to be sure she left. He heard a quiet sob, following by a sniffle, then more sobs and footsteps as the girl ran away. " _That should've made me feel better. I got her out of my hair. So...why do I feel worse?"_ he thought confusedly. He sighed and made his way back to the window he had been watching the festivities from. He saw the girl crying, then more girls showed up and pulled the crying girl away from her spot underneath a tree. He sighed again.

Sakura looked up as Ino, TenTen, and Hinata came up. They convinced her to join them and they all went off to get cotton candy and play some games. The girls passed a booth that had small stuffed bears as the prize. She paid the man her money and tried as hard as she could to win, but she just couldn't. Ever conscious of her limited funds, she sighed sadly and walked away. She didn't see the person who played the game next, nor the fact that the person won and picked out the teddy bear she had been eying.

The ten-year-old crawled wearily into bed, worn out from being run all over the place by her friends. She plopped her head onto the pillow and was asleep nearly instantly.

The next morning, she opened her eyes and stretched. Reaching out to the table to turn her alarm off before it woke up her mom, she bumped into something and heard it fall to floor. Sitting up sleepily, she looked down and gasped when she saw the bear she had been wanting at the festival. Attached to it was a note. "Here. Since you couldn't get one yourself." It wasn't signed, but she knew exactly who had gotten it for her. Only Sasuke could turn something nice into an insult. She smiled and giggled, then held the bear close to her.

Outside her window, Sasuke watched. A small smile graced his lips, then he turned and left.

They didn't speak of it the next time they saw each other. Sakura just smiled at him, a smile which got wider when he returned it with a small half-smile of his own.

**############**

Sakura smiled at the memory. It was one of the only things Sasuke had ever given her, which made it all the more special. Sakura placed the worn bear lovingly in the bag, then moved on to gather a few more clothes. She zipped up her bag and opened another one, this one for the twins. She placed all of their tiny little baby clothes in it, along with diapers and toys and other essentials. When the babies' bag was packed, she took all three and placed them in the living room.

After checking on Mai and Shin, she went in search of Itachi. She found him in the backyard, training. The two Akatsuki members sent to get them were sitting under a tree. As soon as she stepped onto the ground from the porch, all three turned to her.

"Let's spar, Sakura. You haven't fought with me in a while," Itachi said with a smirk.

Sakura answered his smirk with one of her own. "Okay. Jutsu and weapons allowed?" she asked.

"Everything goes. An all-out battle. Let's see what you've been doing when you go train with Tsunade and Ino, shall we?" Itachi said with a small smile. He smiled a bit wider when he saw Sakura's guilty blush.

In the background, Hidan whispered to Kakuzu. "Did he just fucking smile? I've never seen him smile. It's fucking weird."

Kakuzu hit Hidan upside the head. "Shut the hell up. I think the little kunoichi might have softened him up," he said quietly to Hidan. The kunai that embedded itself in the tree trunk a scant few centimeters above his head had him shutting up quickly.

Sakura pulled on her gloves and took a kunai out of the pouch on her leg. She dropped into her stance and prepared for Itachi to make his move. Itachi just stood there, looking slightly bored. The kunoichi smirked and slammed her fist into the ground, making a small fissure that headed for Itachi. He simply jumped out of the way and stood there. Sakura heard something behind her and whirled to see an Itachi clone coming at her. She dropped to the ground at the last second and shot her leg out, hoping to catch the clone off guard and trip it. The clone jumped up and launched a barrage of kunai and shuriken at her. Jumping back, Sakura saw more kunai coming from beside her. She turned her head and, again, felt like time slowed. She snatched one of the weapons out of the air a split second before it hit her, then used it to deflect the rest. She turned back to Itachi and smiled.

Itachi saw her eyes and felt a small thrill of shock run through him. " _Sharingan. But how? Any why pink?"_ he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Sakura was no longer in front of him. _"I didn't even see her move!"_ Itachi felt a kunai poke him gently in the back of the neck, at the base of the skull.

"You're dead," Sakura whispered. He felt a draft of air and realized she had moved again. He smiled to himself at how strong his little blossom had grown. Activating his own Sharingan, he looked around for her. He took a step forward and pivoted on his heel to throw a shuriken into the trees. His eyes widened when his shuriken came whizzing back at him. He ducked and stuck his leg out, catching Sakura in the stomach as she ran at him. Now down to taijutsu, Itachi saw how fluid her moves were. He caught her in the stomach again, and once in the face. She just spit blood out her mouth and kept fighting.

The more they fought, the more Sakura saw slight flaws in Itachi's taijutsu. _"Okay. I have his pattern. Now just wait for it- there!"_ She thought as she sent a chakra-enhanced punch to his stomach. He spit up blood and doubled over in pain. He jerked backwards when Sakura began to lift her knee.

She froze mid-strike. "Shit," she said. Rushing through a series of seals, Sakura disappeared in a rain of sakura blossoms. Itachi blinked in surprise. Then he heard it, too. Someone was in the house. He repeated Sakura's curse and followed after her, running so fast he was a blur. When he got to the house, he saw Sakura holding someone up by the shirt. The fact that the person was nearly twice as big as her, and was currently dangling a few inches off the ground, made his eyes widen. Itachi ran into the house and up the stairs to the nursery. He saw the twins, asleep in their cribs, and let out a sigh of relief. He picked them both up and scrambled back downstairs. He saw Kakuzu and Hidan in the living room, looking confused. He handed the twins off to them and went back to Sakura. The big guy was now tied to a tree, apparently unconscious. He glanced at Sakura, then did a double-take.

Inner smiled back at him. "Saku-chan's busy now. Best be quiet so you don't mess up her concentration," she said sweetly.

Itachi just stared at her. "Oh, that's right! You didn't know we could merge, did you? Well, we can. And Saku-chan's in this big lug's head right now, trying to find out what he's doing here and why. She shouldn't be too much longer," Inner explained.

The two stood there for a few minutes until Inner gave Itachi a sad look. "Well, I have to go now. Bye!"

Slowly, the black streaks in Sakura's hair receded. Her fingernails lost the black and silver designs, and the tattoo on her shoulder disappeared into her skin. Sakura opened her eyes and blinked up at Itachi. "Well, that was interesting. Orochimaru sent him. He wants a baby this time, so he can raise it to be his willing slave and so that he can finally have the Sharingan. That freak just needs to be killed," she said with disgust.

Itachi felt rage pour through him as Sakura spoke. " _For this, you will die, Orochimaru. I promise you that,"_ Itachi thought.

The two headed inside and were met by the sight of the two other Akatsuki members trying to make the twins stop crying. Hidan was cursing at Shin and Kakuzu was holding Mai away from his body with his threads and bouncing her up and down. The parents of said twins were struggling not to laugh. Sakura gave in and burst into fits of giggles while Itachi smiled and shook his head. The couple took their children back from the floundering pair and almost instantly the babies were quiet. Their parents shared a smile and left the two helpless males gaping at them as they went upstairs.

"Damn. They make it look so damned _easy,"_ Hidan said. Kakuzu just nodded in response.

That afternoon, Sakura went to Tsunade's office. "Shishou," she said upon entering, "Itachi and I have to go to the Akatsuki base for a while. Their Leader needs Itachi and said that I could come along. I think he wants to see me and the twins."

Tsunade looked up in surprise. "So that's what those two were doing here. I wondered when they didn't stop anywhere, but headed straight to you and Itachi." She sighed. "I guess I could let you go. But then who would run the hospital for you?"

Sakura laughed. "Shishou, I haven't been in that hospital since I was released from the maternity ward. Ino's been running it ever since."

Tsunade groaned. "Damn. I guess I have to let you go, don't I? You'll just run away with them. Fine. I'll get the proper documents so you won't be held up at the borders. I'll send Naruto with them at dawn to meet you at the gates. Now go away so I can...er...do paperwork," Tsunade said as she stealthily pulled a bottle of sake out from under her desk.

Sakura laughed. "Okay. Just don't let Shizune catch you."

Tsunade sighed. " _Why do I have a bad feeling about all this? I need more sake."_

The next morning, the four adults and two infants were at the gates, waiting for Naruto to bring the papers Sakura needed. Finally, after half an hour, Sakura summoned a slug to find him. The slug found him at Ichiraku. He had forgotten all about Sakura and his job to give her the papers. When Sakura appeared beside him, her eyes blazing with anger, he remembered _real_ quick.

After a good tongue-lashing, Naruto handed her the papers and said goodbye and gave her one last hug. "Come home soon, Sakura. And stay safe." His hug tightened. "Don't make me lose another teammate. Sakura, you're like a sister to me. I love you and I couldn't take it if something happened to you."

Sakura blinked in surprise then smiled at Naruto's admission. "I love you, too, Naruto. Nothing's going to happen. I promise. Itachi will keep us safe."

Naruto shot her a crooked smile as he released her. "Come back soon."

"I will," Sakura promised as she took off in the direction of the gates.

Sakura landed in front of Itachi and retrieved a screaming Mai from a scowling (and cursing) Hidan. She and Itachi held the twins and the other two carried the duffel bags.

As the sun rose over the tree tops, Sakura looked back at the village. A chill shot down her spine as she saw shadows moving around them. Shaking the dread off, she turned her back on the village and towards the newest chapter in her life.

In the shadows, a dark figure crouched. He laughed when he saw Sakura visibly cringe when she felt his presence. _"This one is different. Maybe I can use her instead."_ When the figure stood up, a flash of orange showed from beneath his hood. The figured laughed maniacally before disappearing in a flash.


	7. Settling In

**Chapter Seven**

**Settling In**

**I still don't own Naruto. Damn. lol**

* * *

Sakura looked up from the branch she was sitting on to see Hidan handing her a canteen. "Thanks," she said gratefully.

"Yeah, whatever," came the disgruntled reply.

Sakura smiled. The past few days had been hard going. They ran all day, most of the time into the nights as well. At night, one person would take the watch for a few hours, then wake up the next person on the list they had made. Itachi was right before her on the list, so she hardly ever got woken up until the end of her watch. She would glare at Itachi, but it never did any good.

The twins were being surprisingly well-behaved. It was almost as if they enjoyed the trip. More than once, Sakura had noticed a smile on Mai's or Shin's faces as they ran.

Finally, after five days of hard travel, they made it to the base. Kisame was at the door, waiting to see who the new arrivals were. His eyes widened slightly when he saw _two_ babies. The group got closer to him and he saw that Itachi was _smiling_ at the woman. _"I need a drink,"_ he thought to himself. He turned and walked into the base, but left the door open for the coming group.

Itachi saw Kisame standing at the door, watching them. He heard Sakura say something about 'no more sushi' and turned to smirk at her. When he turned back, Kisame had disappeared, but the door was open. The small group landed at the doorway and stood there for a few minutes, catching their breath. Kakuzu walked into the base first, followed by Hidan. Sakura looked up to see Itachi in the doorway, waiting for her.

The first thing Sakura became aware of inside the base was the body suddenly attached to hers. She looked up in surprise. An orange mask with one eyehole peered back at her.

"Hello, new person. Tobi's a good boy!" This was accompanied by a tight squeeze she supposed was a hug.

"Um...hi, Tobi. I'm Sakura," she said, a little bit uncertain. She heard a man's voice call out Tobi's name. From the way Tobi stiffened and suddenly looked very guilty, Sakura knew this wouldn't be good.

A blonde with teal eyes stalked into the room. "What the hell did you do with my clay, Tobi? I can't find it anywhere, yeah," the blonde said.

"Um...Deidara-sempai...this is Sakura. I've got to go. Bye!" Tobi said in a hurry before dashing out of the room.

Deidara turned to Sakura. "Sakura, huh? It fits. The hair and all, yeah." He turned and chased after Tobi.

Sakura looked around the spacious and sparse living room and saw a space that would comfortably fit both of the cribs for the twins. After setting them up, she gently settled her sleeping children in for a nap.

Itachi walked up and quietly intoned for Sakura to follow him. They went down a hall, through a door, down another hall, then through the kitchen, one more door, and finally, Itachi stopped at a door with his hand on the doorknob.

He hesitated for a second, then spoke. "Kisame and I share a room. I'm sure that, since you're here now, Leader will let us have a separate room. For now, though, you and the twins will have to stay in here with us."

Sakura nodded. "Okay. It's not the end of the world, Itachi. Stop looking at me like you just signed my death warrant." She pushed past him and started to open the door. "I'm sure the room isn't...that bad," she finished with a mixture of horror and a sick amazement as she finally saw the room. "Do you guys _ever_ clean this room?" she asked incredulously. She looked around the room and took in the clothes piled on the floor and beds, the bloody weapons on a table in the corner, and dirty dishes on every table in the room.

Itachi looked around dispassionately. He hadn't really realized it had gotten so bad. Most of the time, the two men were never in the room, so they never really cared what it looked like. They always stayed in the living room or the kitchen, or outside at the training grounds. He glanced at Sakura.

She looked back at him with a bit of amusement in her eyes. "Are all of the rooms in this place as bad as this?" she asked.

"Tobi's is almost as bad as this, like a teenager's room; Deidara and Sasori's is layered in clay and puppet parts; Hidan and Kakuzu's is stained with blood; and Zetsu's has...leftovers...from his meals. I'm not sure about Leader's and Konan's rooms," Itachi retorted.

Sakura looked at him hopelessly. "I'm never going to be done by the time we go back. Just cleaning your room will take _days_ ," she said with a sigh.

Itachi turned to look back at the kunoichi. "You're going to clean the base?" he asked.

"Well, of course. I don't see how you guys can live here without getting sick from the germs all over the place. I won't live here like this," she said pointedly.

Itachi sighed as she started picking up clothes, thinking about how long this next month was going to be.

The next few hours was spent going through the clothes everywhere, sorting them into dirty and clean, and Itachi's and Kisame's. When that part was done, Sakura ordered Itachi to take the clothes to be washed. With a level stare, he turned and walked off...where he handed the basket of clothes to the first person he met. Hidan just rolled his eyes and turned back towards the laundry room.

While he was away, she picked up the dirty dishes and retraced their steps to the kitchen. To her horror, the dirty dishes were overflowing in the sink. She sighed. _"I'll have to do that tomorrow. Itachi's room is enough for now."_ She placed the dishes on the counter and went back to Itachi's room. Kisame was in there now, dropping his clothes onto the floor Sakura had just cleaned up.

"Stop right there, Mister! You guys have a clothes hamper for a _reason_ ," she said to the man.

Kisame froze. He turned to see the little kunoichi glaring at him. He smiled placatingly and walked over to the unused hamper to drop his shirt inside. "There. Happy, little girl?" he said with derision. He turned his back on her and lowered his hands to his belt. "Unless you wanna see a lot more skin, I'd suggest you get your short little ass outta here," Kisame said with a sneer. The next thing he knew, he was being _bodily thrown_ from the room. "What the hell?" was all he could say before he hit the wall. He looked up the glaring kunoichi.

"Unless _you_ want to lose some important body parts, stay out of here until I get done. And this room better stay clean, too, or else you'll be a helluva lot worse off." With that, Sakura slammed the door.

Kisame shook his head. "Damn. The kid's got a temper, that's for damn sure." He got up and made his way to the bathroom. On the way, he passed Itachi and told him what had happened. Itachi just shook his head and kept walking.

He arrived at his room and opened the door to see Sakura cleaning and polishing the various weapons that had littered the room. They were now piled in order of dirtiness. Sakura had a smudge of dirt on her cheek and her clothes were covered in grime. He walked up behind her. "Sakura, take a break. You have all the time in the world. Go see Mai and Shin. I'm sure they miss you," he said softly.

Sakura sighed. "Okay. Fine. But I'm going to take a shower first. I feel horrible." With that said, she dropped the cloth she had been using and grabbed her duffel bag off of the floor on the way to the bathroom. She walked in and shut the door, then dropped her bag on the floor. When she looked in the mirror, she let out a gasp. _"Wow, do I look rough or what?"_ she thought to herself. She stripped and stepped into the shower, then turned the water on. She yelped when the cold water hit her skin. She adjusted the temperature and washed her hair.

When she was moving on to her body, she felt a draft through the shower curtain. _"That's strange; I thought I locked the door."_ She cautiously pulled back the _tiniest_ amount of the shower curtain and gasped when she saw a red-headed male. From his face and stature, she thought he was a teenager.

The guy jerked his head towards her when he heard her gasp. She saw a hint of a blush when he noticed that it was a girl in the shower. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were Deidara. You must be Sakura. I'm Sasori. I'll just leave you to your shower, then," he said. He walked out and shut the door behind him.

Sakura just stared, wide-eyed, at the closed door. "Well, then. That was weird," she said to herself. She finished her shower and dried off quickly, then pulled on her clothes. She threw her dirty clothes into the duffel bag and exited the bathroom. Stopping in at Itachi's room to throw the duffel bag inside and pick up the twins', she walked to the living room. She walked through the door to find Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Tobi crowded around the cribs that held the twins. She pushed her way through and picked up Mai then pushed her way back through so that she could have room to change and feed the baby. The two were already on bottles, ever since Sasuke's death, when Tsunade had taken them to the hospital nursery while their parents grieved.

Swiftly changing Mai, she asked one of the men to fix the bottles. When they looked at her quizzically, she sighed. "ITACHI!" she yelled, making a few of the gathered men wince and Tobi to cover his ears.

Itachi walked into the room a few seconds later. He didn't ask, just looked at the bottles on the table and nodded. He grabbed them and the formula and walked into the kitchen. Sakura glared at the men and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. Not wanting their ears to suffer again, they quickly left the room.

Sakura placed Mai in her crib and picked up Shin, then changed the boy's diaper and placed him back in his crib. Itachi came back into the room a moment later, carrying the bottles and followed by the men she had run out. Sakura sighed. She looked at the group of men, sizing them up. Figuring she might ought to get to know them, she grabbed a bottle and picked Mai back up.

"Would one of you like to feed Mai?" she asked. Deidara and Tobi both shot their hands up, but Tobi's faltered, then lowered when Deidara sent a death glare at him. Sakura smiled. "Okay, Deidara. Come over here and sit down," she instructed. Deidara ambled over and plopped into the seat Sakura was pointing to. She gently placed her daughter in Deidara's arms. She corrected his hold and watched for a minute as he looked at the baby. She tested the bottle against her wrist and handed it to the blonde. He took it from her and held it up to Mai's lips. Mai's hands came up and covered Deidara's finger, trying to pull the bottle closer. He hid a smile.

Sakura turned to the rest of the group. "Anybody want to feed Shin?" she asked. Tobi's hand shot up again. Sakura laughed. "Okay, Tobi. You sit over here," she said. Tobi walked over and sat down. Sakura picked up Shin and placed him in Tobi's arms, correcting his hold on Shin. She tested the other bottle on her wrist and handed it to Tobi. He brought it to the baby boy's mouth.

When the babies were halfway done with their bottles, Sakura made the two men burp them. Deidara jumped a bit in surprise when Mai burped loudly. Sakura smiled while Itachi smirked. After the twins had been fed and were settled in their cribs for a nap, everyone sort of migrated to the kitchen. Sakura sighed when she saw the dishes. She looked through the doors until she found the closet, then rambled through it until she found an apron. She tied the apron and rolled up her sleeves then started on the dishes. Itachi surprised the men by taking up the duty of rinsing the dishes. Tobi jumped into the work with "Tobi will help. Tobi's a good boy!" and dried and put the dishes away. After about fifteen minutes, every dish was clean, dry, and in its place.

Almost in unison, Hidan, Kakuzu, Kisame, Deidara, and Tobi's stomachs growled. Sakura laughed at Itachi's disgruntled face. "If you guys promise to clean up after yourselves, I'll cook lunch," she said with a small smile. Her eyes widened when everyone promised right away. Apparently, none of the men could cook well. When Sakura looked through the refrigerator and cupboards, she was disappointed by the lack of food. "Sorry, guys, but I need some supplies. Do you _ever_ go grocery shopping?" she asked. She was confused when Hidan started laughing.

"Yeah fucking right! Kakuzu's the Akatsuki's 'financial adviser'. Tight-fisted, greedy bastard is more like it, though," Hidan said between bouts of laughter.

She looked to Itachi for help. "He doesn't like being...frivolous," he said in a quiet voice.

Sakura nodded. "Okay. Then I guess you guys don't mind eating maggot-infested foods."

When this sunk in, Deidara turned a bit green. Tobi's visible eye widened. Hidan cussed. Kisame...well...let's say the blue turned to gray. Kakuzu looked unaffected, as did Itachi. Sakura raised her eyebrow at him. He shrugged. "I haven't been here for over a month. I haven't eaten any of the food."

Sakura shook her head. "I need to get some supplies from the nearest town. Anyone willing to take me there?" she asked sweetly. Deidara opened his mouth, but Itachi glared at him. Hidan sighed. "I'll take her. I need to sacrifice a few people for Jashin-sama, anyways," he said. Itachi nodded. He didn't trust Hidan, per se, but he knew Hidan was less likely to get Sakura killed. Deidara had a tendency to anger people.

Kakuzu grumbled about a 'waste of money'. Sakura took the money he held out, smiled with feigned sweetness, and kicked him in the shin. When he retaliated with a fist, she dodged gracefully. Before they could go any further, Itachi stepped in front of Sakura. Kakuzu backed off. Sakura smiled and placed her hand on Itachi's back. When he looked back at her, she raised up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

Walking away, she yelled back, "Hidan, be ready in fifteen minutes!"


	8. The Marvelous Misadventures of Akatsuki and Co.

**Chapter Eight**

**The Marvelous _Mis_ adventures of Akatsuki and Co.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Sakura sighed for the hundredth time. "Hidan, do you even know where you're going? I mean, seriously. We've passed this tree four times," she said, pointing to a tree with four kunai scratches. She added a fifth.

"You just shut the hell up. I know where I'm fucking going. See?" he said irately, pointing to a new path that hadn't been there before.

Sakura nodded. "Right. And you couldn't see through the genjutsu hiding that path because...? I saw it the first time through. I thought you ignored it because it was the wrong way," Sakura said.

Hidan blushed a bit, but hid it by making a show of cursing at her about how "Jashin-sama doesn't appreciate kunoichi know-it-all bitches doubting his followers." Sakura sighed. She stood up from the log she had sat down on and grabbed Hidan by the back of the collar. She set off down the path, dragging the poor cursing man behind her.

**#############**

After the Jashinist and the kunoichi left, the twins woke up. Kakuzu knew right away that he wouldn't be able to handle them, so he left the room. Tobi got called away by Zetsu. Deidara left to go find more clay for his "art". Kisame tried to leave, but Itachi threatened to Mangekyou him, so he sighed and sat back down. Itachi picked up Mai and went to change her.

Kisame looked around to make sure Itachi wasn't watching him. He stood up quietly and walked over to Shin's crib. When the baby looked up at him and smiled, Kisame felt like he'd had his breath knocked out. _Nobody_ smiled at him. Especially not _babies_. Babies usually cried and screamed when they saw Kisame. But this baby, Itachi's son, smiled at him like he was just another normal guy, looking down at him. Kisame picked the baby up and held him up so he could see into his unique eyes. "Hey, kid. I'm your Uncle Kisame," he said gruffly. Shin smiled and reached up to pull Kisame's hair. Kisame heard someone coming, so he hurriedly set the baby back in his crib.

Itachi walked in and looked at Kisame, sitting innocently on the couch. Itachi noticed that his hair was a bit messed up and smirked. "It hurts a little when he pulls it, doesn't it? He's very strong for a baby," Itachi said. Kisame blushed a bit, turning his cheeks a bit purple. Itachi placed a sleepy Mai into her crib and covered her up, then handed her the stuffed bear she always slept with. He then turned to Shin and picked him up for his turn at getting his diaper changed. As Itachi walked out of the room, he heard Kisame telling Mai that he was her uncle. Itachi smiled. _"By the time we leave, every one of the members will be as soft towards those two as I am,"_ He thought to himself with a smirk.

**#############**

Sakura and Hidan had finally made it to the town well after noon. Unfortunately, Hidan managed to get them lost _inside_ the town. Sakura glared at the man and caught him by the hair. "Listen up, Hidan. If you don't get me to the nearest market soon, I'm going to tear you apart and make damn sure there won't be _any fucking way_ to put you back together. Got it?" Sakura asked with a jerk to the immortal's hair.

Now usually, Hidan wouldn't be afraid of that kind of threat. But when Sakura's eyes turned red and her chakra spiked to dangerous levels, the legendary Sannin's student became a frightening thing to behold. The worst part was that he knew she probably _could_ make good on her threat.

So, the immortal nodded his head as much as Sakura's tight grip would allow. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in the direction of the center of town.

Sakura smirked as she was tugged along. Tsunade would've been proud.

**#############**

Deidara looked around, making sure there wasn't anybody around. He sneaked into the living room. He got right beside the babies' cribs and his foot hit a toy. It rattled and hit the wall. Deidara winced. He looked into Mai's crib and saw her blinking up at him. He smiled and picked her up. "Hey there, little girl. I'm your Uncle Deidara, yeah." He sat down on the couch. "Did you know that I had a sister named Mai?" He smiled when the baby giggled. "God, I miss her so much, yeah. She's gone, though. She died right before I left my village. Blew it all to pieces, too. Half of it at least, yeah."

"You never did tell me why you left, Deidara. Was it because of your sister?" Sasori asked from the doorway. He smirked when Deidara jumped.

The former Iwa-nin blushed. "Yeah. They killed her, Danna. The black ops accused our family of being traitors. All because I failed a mission, yeah. They killed her because of me. And I killed all of those bastards because of her, yeah," he said in a thick voice.

Sasori hadn't known all of this. It seemed that the twins were causing his partner to loosen up. He watched in silence as Deidara hunched over the baby, hiding the tears caused by his memories. His eyes widened when Mai's hands wrapped around Deidara's finger, almost as if she were comforting him.

Deidara smiled down at Mai. He kissed her cheek and stood up. After placing her back in her crib, he covered her up and turned away from Sasori to wipe at his eyes. Eyes which widened when Sasori hugged Deidara from behind. He turned around and looked down at Sasori, who was looking up at him with a bit of sadness in his usually emotionless eyes. "I'm sorry, Danna. I don't usually get like this when I think about it."

"Don't apologize, you dope. I'm trying to comfort you, so be comforted." Sasori looked away when Deidara looked at him.

Deidara smiled and hugged his partner back. His smile widened when Sasori told him not to get used to this.

**#############**

Sakura smiled happily. Finally, she had gotten to the market. Her smile turned into an evil smirk when she heard Hidan cursing at her. After the trouble he had put her through, she had "asked" him to carry the bags. "Ask" as in threaten him into doing it. _"Serves him right!"_ Sakura thought to herself as she heard a vicious curse.

"Stop, dammit! Can you not fucking hear me, you little pink _menace?_ " Hidan yelled at her.

Sakura smiled. She finally stopped and turned around to see Hidan cursing under his breath and walking up to her. "What is it, Hidan? We need to get back to the base before dark," she said.

Hidan cursed yet again. "Well, you're going the wrong damn way! You missed the fucking turn ten minutes ago. I've been _trying_ to tell you, but you wouldn't fucking listen," Hidan said with a snarl.

Sakura sighed. "I know that, Hidan. I made a map of the area coming in. There's a quicker way up ahead. It's half as long as the other way."

Hidan looked surprised. Sakura just sighed again and turned around to start walking again. Hidan cursed and picked up the grocery bags again. Sure enough, after a few more minutes of walking, there was a trail leading up into the mountain. The base was nestled in a crater at the top of the mountain. Hidan shook his head.

True to Sakura's word, the path was shorter. Unfortunately, it wasn't short enough. It got dark about two-thirds of the way to the base. Sakura put her pack on the ground. She rummaged through it and got out the small tent she always carried. Early on in her ninja career, she had noticed that the tents issued to ninja were too bulky and took up valuable space in a pack, so she had experimented with making a "ninja tent". Ideally, it would be about the size of an envelope, but after placing it on the ground and making the seals for the release, it would expand to be comfortable for at least one person. Sakura had nearly perfected it, and had brought along a few prototypes.

She placed the tent on the ground and backed up a few yards. She made the seals and waited. After a few seconds, the area around the tent erupted in smoke. Hidan cursed when the smoke cleared and a good-sized tent was standing where the small package had been before. The Jashinist turned wide eyes on Sakura. She smirked. "I invented it. Makes more room in my pack," she said lightly as she walked to the tent. She grabbed her bag and walked inside. Hidan lugged the bags he still had inside, too.

As soon as he walked in, he was hit in the head with a rolled up sleeping bag. Sakura giggled. He opened his eyes to see her already in her bag, ready to sleep.

"Go to sleep. We'll need to get up at dawn tomorrow," she said.

Hidan just rolled his eyes, unrolled his bag, and got in.

**#############**

Itachi was pacing. Kisame could hear him, even though he was being nearly silent. "Get the hell to sleep, Itachi. I can't sleep with you wearing a hole in the damn floor. The kunoichi'll be fine. Hidan's with her. He'll kill anybody they come across and sacrifice them for his god," Kisame said with a smirk.

Itachi grunted and resumed pacing.

Kisame groaned and pulled is pillow over his ears to muffle the noise.

He couldn't help but pace. He was worried about Sakura. He was actually, irrefutably, worried by all the various ways he could envision Sakura dying. Like...Hidan could sacrifice her; an animal could eat her; a rogue ninja could attack her; she could fall off of a cliff; she could impale herself on a stick; she could suddenly collapse and die of heart failure. Then he would shake his head and realize how ridiculous those thoughts were. If Hidan attacked her, she could hold her own against him; she wouldn't be so weak or stupid as to let an animal eat her; she could probably kill said rogue ninja before he even made a move to kill her; she wasn't stupid enough to fall off a cliff OR impale herself on a stick; and she was a medical ninja. If her heart DID start to fail, she could heal it before any damage was done. Really, he was getting paranoid. Finally, tired of just pacing, he went to see the twins. When he shut the door to his room, he heard Kisame sigh in relief.

In the make-shift nursery, he found Shin awake. The baby gurgled happily and held his arms up. Itachi smiled and picked up his son. Shin smiled a happy baby smile and rested his head on his father's chest. In minutes, the baby was asleep. Itachi wandered to the window. He stood there for a minute, just looking out into the darkness, then turned and sat down in a chair and shut his eyes. He was asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Itachi was woken by a baby's wail. He shot out the chair and into the kitchen like a bat out of hell. He found the Akatsuki men surrounding his children, who were on the kitchen table. He walked over and picked up Mai, who nearly instantly stopped crying. He glared at the men, his eyes flashing red, and picked up his son, then made his way to his room. After settling the twins on his bed so that they couldn't roll off, he went back to the kitchen to fix them bottles. The same members were still there, and backed away a bit as Itachi walked in. He fixed the bottles and heated them up, then made his way back to his room.

Kisame stared after him. "What the hell's gotten into him? Ever since he found out that the kunoichi was pregnant, he hasn't been the same."

Deidara just rolled his eyes. "He's a father, Fish-stick. His paternal instincts are rearing their head, yeah."

Sasori looked at his partner with wide eyes. "When did you learn big words, Deidara? Up to the 'P's' in the dictionary, huh?"

Deidara glared at him, but was jerked up by the throat as Kisame finally realized what Deidara had called him. "Fish-stick, huh? I'll give you fish-stick." And with that said, he wrapped both hands around the blonde's throat. His grip was barely enough to even bruise the mouthy blonde, but it served to scare the shit out of him. Deidara knew just how strong the blue-skinned man was. He had witnessed him tearing men apart without breaking a sweat.

Sasori just watched the pair with a bored look on his face. He wasn't surprised that his partner was being strangled by the shark man. He didn't seem to care either...

**#############**

Sakura huffed. It was bad enough that she had to baby-sit the immortal pain in the ass. But then, the idiot had to go and get himself bitten. By the most poisonous snake in the area. " _Lady Fate must_ _have me on_ _her shit list right now,"_ Sakura thought. Said immortal pain in the ass was currently slumped by a tree after Sakura had carried his dead weight _and_ the groceries after he had passed out from the pain and venom coursing through his body. Sakura glared at him then sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, idiot. We have to get back to the base. We're almost there," Sakura said, more to herself than the unconscious man she was hefting over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Pumping chakra into her muscles, she picked up the bags and started off towards the base.

Twenty minutes later, Sakura saw the top of the mountain that hid the building. She pushed a little more chakra into her muscles and picked up the pace. After a few minutes, Sakura was at the top of the hill. _"I can see the base! Thank you, God. He was starting to get heavy."_

With that thought, Inner forcibly took control and sat the unconscious man on the ground then pushed him with her foot, causing him to roll down the hill. Every time he hit a bump, Inner would laugh. Sakura pulled Inner back and regained control of her body, ignoring Inner's groan. The kunoichi picked up her bags and followed the human boulder down the hill. When Hidan hit the side of the building, Sakura winced in sympathy. By the time she reached the bottom of the crater, most of the Akatsuki members were outside. Sasori seemed to be the only one paying any attention to the snake-bitten man.

When Itachi abruptly appeared in front of her, Sakura nearly dropped the bags she was carrying. "Hello to you, too, sweetheart. Miss me that much?" she asked with a bit of amusement.

Itachi simply stared down at her. He then lowered his head to press his lips against hers in a brief, passionate kiss. A few moments later, the spell was broken by Hidan's groan. Sakura turned to see him sitting up, holding his head.

Sakura watched with a grin on her face as he slowly picked himself up and dusted off his clothes. "Maybe next time you'll listen when I tell you to avoid things, smartass."

Hidan glared at her, but said nothing. Sakura laughed as she handed off some of the bags to Itachi and headed inside.

Back in the kitchen, she unpacked the bags and put everything away. Itachi stood in the doorway, watching. When she smiled at him, he motioned for her to follow him. In their room, he shut and locked the door, then ushered the kunoichi towards the bed, removing their clothes as they went.

Sakura gasped as Itachi nipped her bottom lip, pushing her back to lay on the bed. He ran his hand up her leg to where her body burned with need for him. He groaned at how hot she was.

Sakura glanced at Itachi's face. His eyes were closed and his jaw was clenched so tight a muscle was ticking there. Smirking, her hand found its way down to where his erection was pulsing against her leg. She wrapped her fingers around it and stroked him. The breath left his body and his hardness jerked in her grip.

Not able wait any longer, Itachi grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled it away from his shaft, groaning when her hand grazed his ultra-sensitive skin. He opened her legs and thrust inside Sakura's waiting body.

Sakura moaned as Itachi rolled his hips and pushed himself deeper inside her. Sakura bit Itachi's shoulder and gasped as jerked and slid even deeper inside her. She wrapped her legs around Itachi's waist, smiling a bit when he moaned. As high strung as the two were, it wasn't long before they both came in an earth-shattering orgasm. Sakura ran a hand through Itachi's hair. The raven-haired man grunted and kissed Sakura's neck. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

Sakura placed her hand on Itachi's chest and smiled. "We have to get up, Itachi. I still need to cook dinner for you guys."

Itachi grunted and tightened his arms around Sakura. She laughed softly. A baby's cry pierced the air. "I suppose that decides for us, doesn't it?" Itachi asked dryly.

Sakura laughed and sat up. "Let the guys handle it for a bit. I want to go shower. And I suppose I have to go check on Hidan. Idiot," she said.

"What happened? I came outside when I heard him hit the side of the base," Itachi said.

Sakura snorted. "The immortal know-it-all idiot got bitten by a snake. The most poisonous snake in the whole country...and he gets bitten by it. I told him to get away from it. But no, he just _had_ to poke it with a stick."

Itachi sighed at the idiocy. "Go on, then. I'll go check on the twins."

Sakura flounced out of the room, naked as could be, and across the hall to the bathroom. Itachi heard a crash and smirked. He would bet anything that Deidara or Kisame had seen his little blossom and crashed into something. Standing up and looking out into the hall, he nodded. Yup. Deidara had slammed into the door of his room, blood streaming from his nose. Itachi shook his head and stepped over the poor Iwa nin. When he walked into the living room, he was met with the most unlikely scene he could've ever thought of. _Kisame_ was _cuddling_ Mai with a dopey grin on his face, baring his teeth to the baby. Surprisingly, Mai wasn't afraid. She seemed to like Kisame, if her happy gurgles were any sign.

When Kisame noticed that Itachi was standing in the doorway, he froze. He stood straight up and coughed, embarrassed by the display. He handed Mai to Itachi and rushed out the door. Itachi heard another crash and a curse, signifying that his partner had tripped over the unconscious blonde.

Itachi felt a smile tug at his lips, looking at his daughter. His heart caught when she smiled back at him and touched his face with her tiny hand. _"Fatherhood is so much more than I thought. I never would've known, not after my childhood. Father treated me like a show-pet, training me to do this and that, and punishing me severely when I didn't get it right. Sasuke had it so much better, but I'm glad he didn't have to go through what I did. And, for my little brother, I killed that horrible bastard. He was too young to realize just how bad the whole clan was. Everything was about image and power. Look at where that image and 'power' got them. Murdered in cold blood by the greatest 'weapon' of them all. That's all I ever was to them, and Sasuke would've been, too, had they seen how much talent he really had."_

Itachi placed Mai back into her crib, beside her napping brother. She closed her eyes and yawned, then flung her hand out toward her brother. As young as they were, even in sleep, they knew where the other was without even opening their eyes. Itachi looked down at his beautiful children. _"I will never treat them like that. They are not to be trained like animals in how to kill and destroy. They are meant to be loved and cherished as the miracles they are."_

Itachi looked down at his sleeping children one last time and covered them with a blanket. With a small smile on his face, he turned and went to join Sakura in the shower.


	9. Anniversaries and Painful Memories

**Chapter Nine  
**

**Anniversaries and Painful Memories**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Deidara opened his eyes and sighed. He didn't have to look at the calendar to know what day it was. He doubted he could ever forget. He sat up and looked over at the only picture in his room. "Happy anniversary, Mai-chan. God, I miss you." The Iwa-nin pushed himself up from the bed and went to his closet. He opened the lid of a small chest and pulled out a girl's traditional kimono, a necklace made from smooth stones and clay beads, a picture and a headband. The kimono he laid out on the bed, along with the necklace. He looked at the picture and smiled a bit, then set it on the bed, too. The headband, he swapped with the scratched one he usually wore. He pulled on his clothes, looked down at the picture one last time, and walked out of his room, unscathed headband gleaming in the morning light.

The picture fluttered a bit as a draft blew through the room. It showed two young kids, a blonde boy and a blonde girl, with their arms around each other. They had their other hands up in peace signs, showing off their bracelets. The boy's said "Deidara". His twin's...said "Mai".

The day that Deidara would never forget...was the day his sister...his _twin_ sister...had been murdered.

Kisame looked around to make sure nobody was around. When he saw that the coast was clear, he moved into the library. He listened for movements, grinning a bit when he heard none. Tip-toeing to the back of the library, he opened a dusty book and sat down on the floor. His grin widened as he flipped through the pages. Nobody in the Akatsuki would have guessed that the shark-man was a huge fan of...romantic poetry.

Sasori heard Deidara's door open and sighed as he closed his book. He knew what today was. Deidara had told him about a few years ago when Sasori had asked Deidara why his headband was different. Deidara had told him that every year since her murder, he would swap his headband for hers, in honor of her loyalty to Iwa. Sasori sighed again. Deidara wasn't the only one with bad memories on this day. He looked over at the calendar. Two words were written in jagged red marks... _Happy Birthday._

Sakura rolled over with a smile on her face. She leaned over and kissed Itachi's cheek. When he grunted, Sakura shook her head, causing pink strands to fly waywardly around her head. "Obviously not a morning person, are you?" She let out a short scream and then burst into giggles when he suddenly came to life, grabbing her and rolling her under him, his lips attacking her neck.

Itachi liked her laughter. Even after so long, it soothed his raging mind. Being the genius prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, his mind moved at a faster pace than most people. The closest anyone came to his mental pace was Shikamaru Nara, who was also a genius. When Sakura laughed, though, his mind slowed down to a more normal pace. He liked that feeling, which was why he was relentless in his attack on her. Itachi felt a smile pulling at his lips. Instead of forcing himself to retain the normally stoic mask, he let the smile curl his lips.

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw his smile. She reached up to reverently touch the corner of his lips. She frowned when the smile faltered. "I like it when you smile, Itachi. It reminds me of when we were younger. You didn't frown as much then. You seemed happier." She suddenly rolled out from under him and to the edge of the bed. Leaning over the side, she gave Itachi a nice view of her boy-cut underwear-clad bottom as she reached to grab a box. Just as Itachi's resolve not to smack her butt wavered, she exclaimed, "Got it!" Itachi looked at her expectantly as she sat back and presented the shoe-box with a smile on her face. "Open it! I made this a few days before...well...you left. I never got a chance to give it to you until now. When you look inside, keep in mind that I was about seven or eight years old when I made it. I wanted to give it to you today because this is the anniversary of the day we met."

Itachi glanced at her in surprise. He had forgotten. _"Damn. I can't believe she remembered after all this time."_ After a few seconds, Itachi turned his attention to the pink-hearts-and-glitter decorated box in his lap. He opened the lid and couldn't help but smile a bit. Right on top was a crayon drawing of a stick-person with pink hair and green dots for eyes holding hands - which were big circles - with a stick-person with black hair and red dots for eyes. There were anemic trees around them, which had been brutally savaged by fire and kunai. Itachi was surprised at the detail. He remembered training, working on his fireball jutsu and kunai accuracy when Sakura had run into the field, yelling at him for hurting the trees. He glanced up at the blushing kunoichi. "I see you remember that day as well. I couldn't believe a tiny pink-haired kid was yelling at me. And about hurting trees, no less." He chuckled when she blushed harder.

Sakura felt her cheeks flame hotter when he chuckled. "Just look at the rest," she said. When Itachi pulled out a small notebook, she groaned. "I changed my mind! I don't think this was a good idea!"

Itachi, who had opened the notebook, grinned. "Oh, no. I think this was a _very_ good idea. 'Mrs. Sakura Uchiha. Itachi and Sakura Uchiha. Sakura Haruno Uchiha.' Oh, and kids' names. You certainly were prepared, weren't you?" Itachi laughed a bit when Sakura threw a pillow at his head. He flipped the page and felt his heart stop. There was a photo of Sakura and himself holding hands and walking down the street at a festival. Sasuke was holding Sakura's other hand. It had been the first time the two had ever gone out in public together.

Itachi replaced the picture and reached back into the box. He pulled out a card and shook his head. "I can't believe you kept this. I still don't know how you managed to get hurt so bad. Mother yelled at Sasuke and I for a week after that. Your mother wouldn't let you visit for a month."

Sakura giggled. "How was I supposed to know that the koi fish could actually bite? And you and Sasuke were supposed to be watching me. It didn't help that both of you were nearly blue you were laughing so hard."

"'Get well soon. And sorry our fish bited you all over.' Complete with smiling fish and sad faces. I wasn't aware that neither Sasuke nor I could spell very well. Or draw." Itachi glared when Sakura laughed.

She brushed her lips across his cheek. "Keep looking through it. I'm going to go check on Mai and Shin." Itachi nodded and reached towards the box again as Sakura shut the door.

Deidara glared at Kisame. "I was here first! Let me hold her. That's not fair, Shark-face!"

Kisame glared at Deidara. "Shut up, punk. She held her arms out to _me_. Deal with it. Hold Shin or wait your turn."

Just at that moment, Sakura walked in and picked up Shin. Kisame guffawed while Deidara sighed and slumped onto the couch, shaking his head. Kisame cradle Mai in his large hands and grinned as she smiled up at him. As always when the baby girl smiled at him, Kisame felt his breath catch. _"I think I might just like this little shrimp."_ Kisame's head cocked to the side and his eyes glazed over. _"Hmm. Shrimp. Ah hell. Now I'm hungry."_ Shaking his head, Kisame handed Mai over to an eager Deidara and went in search of food, rubbing his stomach at the thought of it.

Deidara looked down at the baby in his arms, thinking about his sister. _"Except for the hair, she could be my sister all over again, yeah."_ Deidara lowered his head and kissed Mai's forehead. The baby giggled and grabbed Deidara's hair. She yanked, causing Deidara to yelp and his eyes to bug out. Mai giggled again, her laughter pealing out across the room to her mother, who looked up at the two from feeding Shin and smiled at her daughter's antics. She had noticed Deidara's melancholy mood and was glad that it was being lifted. The four of them carried on in silence, Mai's laughter and Shin's burps the only sound in the room.

Sasori looked up from his book when someone walked into the library. After a few seconds, he buried his nose back into his book. _The Inner Workings of Legendary Puppets._ When a gasp and a muffled giggle reached him, Sasori looked up again. After a few seconds, he again returned to his book. When a moan and a short scream, added to a crash, interrupted him again, he stormed out the library. As he closed the door he muttered, "Can't even get a break on my birthday. Can't they find a _normal_ place to have sex?"

Pein looked at a giggling - and naked -Konan. When he quirked an eyebrow at her, she just giggled harder. "He a-always does that. You'd think that b-by now he'd know when we'll be here!" Shaking his head, Pein lifted Konan into his arms again. The blue-haired kunoichi grinned and lowered herself onto Pein. They both groaned as the sensations swept over them.

Zetsu walked into the empty living room. He settled himself onto the couch and opened up his latest gardening magazine. When he heard a baby gurgle, he sighed and put the magazine down. When the baby gurgled again, he stood and walked over to the crib holding Shin. Shin looked up and smiled at Zetsu, baring his gums and giggling. Zetsu reached into the crib and picked the baby up. He looked around to make sure nobody was there, then ducked his head and kissed Shin's head...ending in a lick, tasting the baby. Zetsu froze and then shuddered. Placing the baby back in the crib, he thought to himself, _"Yuck. I didn't know babies tasted so bad. At least adults lose that...baby taste. Tastes like...lotion and fake milk."_

Leaving the room in a hurry, he didn't notice Tobi stick his head into the room.

Tobi strode into the room with more confidence than usual. Striding straight to the crib, he jerked off the mask and grabbed up Shin, startling the baby and making him start to cry. Quickly, Tobi covered the baby's mouth and muffled the cries. He looked around and left the room, then the base, as quickly as he could, leaving a note fluttering in the baby's empty crib.

**%%%%%%%%%%**

_"BROTHER!" a shrill scream pierced the air. A fourteen-year-old blonde boy sat up in the bed, then bolted across the room to grab a kunai. Slipping his bedroom door open silently, Deidara sped down the hall to his sister's room. Another scream made his steps falter before speeding up. Hands blurred as they slid into a pouch at Deidara's waist, grabbing clay. The mouths in his hands that had appeared months ago now came into use as they chewed and infused chakra into the clay. Deidara threw the clay at his sister's door, smiling as it stuck, and made a hand sign to detonate the bomb. The door blew off its hinges as the force of the explosion and the boy rushed into the room, only to stop in horror as he took in the mutilated body of his beloved sister. The intruders had defiled the girl, then slashed her wrists and throat. His stomach revolted, and Deidara fell to his knees as he vomited. Minutes later, he stood and wiped his mouth._

_A gurgling sound came the bed. Deidara gasped and rushed to his sister's side. She smiled weakly when Deidara's face appeared. He leaned down when he saw her lips moving. "They...were black...ops. Said...we...were traitors. Didn't cut...deep enough...to kill me quickly. I lo-" Mai choked on the blood in her lungs and throat. "Love you...Mudpie."_

_Deidara blinked back his tears and kissed Mai's cheek. "Love you, too, Mudball. I'll get them. I swear I will!" Deidara vowed to his twin. She smiled again and tried to lift her arms. Deidara rushed forward to hug her. She kissed his cheek...and exhaled, then was still. Deidara clutched his twin's body close to him as he sobbed. After his tears were spent, he grabbed a chest from the closet and packed Mai's favorite kimono, their engraved bracelets, and a picture of the twins when they were ten._

_Moving to his sister's body, he gently removed her headband._ "Loyal to the end, huh, Mai-chan?" _After he_ _placed the headband in the chest, he stuffed it into his clay pouch._ _He wrapped Mai's body in the blankets on her bed and picked her up, then jumped out of her bedroom window. He ran as fast as he could to his and Mai's secret hiding place. In the little oasis, Deidara cleaned his sister's body of blood and dirt, then wrapped her wrists and neck in pieces of his shirt. He used a jutsu to dig a hole deep into the earth and rock, then jumped down into it with his sister's body in his arms. Crying, he laid her down gently and kissed her cheek one last time. Back on high ground, he gently lowered the dirt back into the hole, then used a jutsu to cover the spot with a slab of granite. Using a kunai, he carved his sister's name, age, and dates of birth and death. At the bottom of the slab, he carved a message:_

_"Together in the womb. Born together. Best friends till the end. Best friends forever."_

_He signed his name and then stood up to leave. As he turned, he heard a whisper, then the snap of a twig. He whirled and deflected the shuriken hurtling through the air at him. Taking off into the woods, he dodged the ninja after him, then abruptly, stopped. A plan had formulated in his slightly crazed mind. He grabbed clay out of his bag and formed a bird with it. Using a new hand sign, he enlarged the bird until it was big enough to carry him. He hopped on its back and directed it to the nearest clay- filled river bed. He packed every pocket he had full of clay, and even made a hollowed out space into the clay bird, which he filled with little chakra-infused clay creations. Hopping onto the bird, Deidara flew to the city, where the black ops base was. Nearing the city, a cry went up and suddenly he was being targeted by every ninja in sight. Dropping a few fun little surprises, a devious look came over his face as he made a sign and whispered into the night, "Katsu."_

_Explosions sounded and screams were heard throughout the city. Deidara passed over his house and saw medical ninja escorting his parents out. The black ops shook hands with Deidara's father. Instantly, he knew that his father had sold them information in exchange for his life and his wife's._ "Bastard! _They killed my sister! And for what? Your measly, cowardly life? I hate you!" Deidara yelled to his parents below. Deidara's mother turned to his father with a shocked look on her face. He saw her lips moving, then she slapped the man who had betrayed her children. Jerking away from the medic holding her arm, she ran off, away from the city. "Perfect," Deidara whispered as a grin spread across his face. He dropped his largest bomb on what used to be his home, then flew some hundred yards away. Detonating the bomb, he was blown backwards from the force of the explosion. He sat up and grinned at the cloud of flames and smoke rising from the ashes of his former home._

_Returning to the city, he dropped bombs and explosive creatures onto the unsuspecting ninja below. The second-largest bomb was dropped onto the black ops base, which was right next to the Kage's mansion. He got as far away from the city as possible, while still being able to safely watch the destruction. A hand sign was formed. A word was whispered. A loud boom echoed through the air, nearly knocking Deidara and the bird out of the sky. Screams gave way to silence. Smiling at his revenge, Deidara grasped his headband and yanked it from his head. Taking great pleasure in turning his back on the people who had killed his sister, he drug a kunai across the Iwa symbol, effectively declaring himself a missing-ninja. Turning the bird away from the destruction, he headed to the desert._

_Two weeks later, half-starved and dehydrated, Deidara showed up in Suna. Staying to the outer edges of the city, he kept his headband covered by a hood, and his hands by gloves. He figured there couldn't be too many Iwa missing-nin with mouths in their hands. By keeping a low profile, he was able to catch tidbits of news from his former home. Half of the city had been destroyed, and the other half had been affected by the quakes caused by the bombs. The Tsuchikage was looking for him, and Deidara made himself as scarce as he could when any ninja were around. By sticking to the more unsavory part of town, Deidara was able to get little jobs as a bomber. He was paid well, and respected by the rogue ninja he worked with. Many thought him to be a genius, since he could make a more effective bomb at fourteen than most professionals could at thirty. By working for the rogues, he was able to get wind of an organization in the works by the name of Akatsuki. Word was, it was formed in Rain, and it was hard as hell to get into. Deidara was intrigued by that, and worked as hard as he could to outdo himself in the next year. By the time he turned fifteen, he was in every Bingo Book except for Konoha. He saw no reason to hurt a village who opposed Iwa. My enemy's enemy is my friend, and all that. Eventually, Deidara was contacted by an agent for Akatsuki. They asked him if he had ever heard of their organization and other such questions. Apparently what he said pleased them, because he was given instructions to a deserted town in Rain. For the next week, Deidara stocked up on as much clay he could find. (Which, honestly, wasn't as much as he would've wanted. Not much clay in the desert...) After the clay, he stocked up on ninja weapons, scrolls, ninja pills, and food. He even got a few medical kits._

_After leaving Suna, he traveled for three weeks. Finally, he reached the little town outside of Rain's capital city. He took a few steps into the town and heard a whisper of sound from behind. Reacting on instinct, he jumped into the air, above the kunai that would've slammed into his back had he not moved. The next hour was spent dodging various traps as he made his way to the last building in the town, which he knew was important. When he finally reached the building, the door opened and an older teen with blood red eyes walked out, followed closely by a huge man with blue skin and gills. He grinned at Deidara, showing off his pointy teeth._

_The teen spoke first. "Congratulations. You're one of the first to make it through the entire facility. Now you have to go through us. Leader is waiting in the very last bedroom in the house. If you make it to him, you_ might _be able to join the Akatsuki. I won't go easy on you."_

_The blue man spoke up. "Maybe you'll be lucky and die before Itachi gets antsy. I doubt you would live long after that." He grinned as wide as he could. "Here I come!"_

_Deidara was instantly on guard. Kisame swung his massive sword at the blonde, who jumped backwards to dodge it. Itachi appeared by his side, causing Deidara to duck the kunai and shuriken whizzing over his head. Grinning, he felt the rush of adrenaline flow through his veins, sharpening his senses. Thrusting his hand into his clay pouch, the mouths in his hands chewed the clay and infused chakra into it to make bombs. Deidara flung the first bomb at Kisame, who was too slow to duck and ended up blown halfway across the town. Itachi appeared suddenly behind, but Deidara's sense of hearing was acute enough to hear the displaced air and ducked in time to miss the blade that was swung and would've sliced his neck in two._

_Kisame groaned and sat up. "_ Damn. The kid can make a bomb, that's for sure. I think he broke my rib." _Grinning, he stood up. He walked over to where his Samehada had been dropped and swung it a few times to see if his ribs would hurt too much to use the large sharkskin sword. Surprisingly, he wasn't hurt too bad. Grinning even more, he jumped back into the fray with a wide swinging arc that tore a chunk out of Deidara's shirt, ripping the cloth to ribbons, and shredding a bit of the skin beneath it. Grasping his arm, Deidara backed up. Kisame stalked forward and swung at him again. Deidara jumped up and over Kisame's head, kicking his butt as he landed._

_Deidara laughed a bit as Kisame turned and looked at him with a bemused look on his face. "I just kicked your ass, yeah!"_

_Kisame guffawed at the quip. "Damn, kid. I'm trying to kill you and you joke around? You got some balls on you, punk."_

_Itachi appeared at Kisame's side. "And you are making small-talk with the enemy, though I have come expect no more from you. Get back to business, Hoshigake." With that, his body scattered into a flock of ravens. For a minute, Deidara couldn't tell anything was wrong. Then, the right side of his body started to tingle, then to itch and burn. He looked down, but could tell no difference. Suddenly, he lost control of his hand. It came up to circle his throat, choking Deidara. His sister's voice came from his right, He turned his head, but nothing was there._ "Oh, God. No. How?" _Deidara thought to himself when he realized where the voice was coming from._

_Cold sweat popped out on his forehead as his sister's voice came again from the right side of Deidara's face. "How could you let them **do** this to me? You weren't there! I trusted you and you betrayed me!_

Deidara could feel his skin starting to peel away. Freaking out, his hand went to his throat in a defensive manner. A choked sound emerged from his mouth when he felt the slash marks in the right side of his throat, almost as if...his throat had been slit. "

 _Mai's voice hissed at him, "Do you feel that? That's what those sick bastards did to me. It was supposed to be_ you! _They didn't know we'd swapped rooms. If they'd known, it would be_ you _with a slit throat! Maybe it will be you...just you wait, Deidara. You'll die soon. And I'll be waiting for you..."_

_For the first time, Deidara noticed the ravens flying around in tight circles around him. It seemed like him noticing the birds was their cue, because they started flying at him. Deidara jumped when one turned into a shuriken and whizzed past him, slicing into his shirt a bit as it passed. More shuriken came, and by luck and skill, Deidara managed to avoid them all. Finally, the genjutsu dispelled, leaving Deidara looking around a bit dazedly. Itachi was standing a yard away from him, looking disgruntled._

_Kisame walked out of the woods. "Wow, Itachi. Seems like he's the first one ever not to get all sliced up by that. One tear in his shirt sleeve. He's good." At Itachi's glare, Kisame just grinned and slapped Deidara on the back, nearly toppling him over. "I'm just saying, that has to count for something, right? Maybe we should just go ahead and let him through. He's proved himself to me."_

_Itachi closed him eyes. When he opened them, the Mangekyou was swirling in them. He looked at Kisame, and for a split second, everything was completely still. The moment was broken when Kisame went down on one knee. "Dammit, Itachi. Leader said not to do that anymore. One more time and we're getting swapped. And_ you'll _probably get the freak. Or the new kid."_

_Itachi glared again. Kisame hurried to look down. Sighing, he turned to Deidara. "Very well. You've proven yourself. Continue to Leader's room. I trust you remember which it is." With that, Itachi and Kisame turned and walked back into the house._

_Deidara gulped. He hadn't expected it to be that easy. Grinning a bit, he took a step. As he crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him with a sharp sound. The teen walked farther into house, down a hall and to the very last door at the back of the house. Feeling a bit foolish, he raised his hand to knock. The door swung open a moment before his fist would've touched the wood, revealing a darkened room._

_"Come in, young Deidara," an eerie voice called from within. Cocksure as ever, Deidara swaggered inside. A fireplace was to his left, with two wing chairs that looked inviting. "Sit down. I'm sure you_ must _be worn out after that battle."_

_Deidara grinned. "Nah. It wasn't too bad. Barely a scratch on me, yeah."_

_The disjointed voice laughed. "You hear that, Sasori? Maybe this one might be just what we're looking for."_

_Another voice joined the first, this one softer, and higher than the first. "Perhaps. He could end up like the rest, in Zetsu-san's stomach."_

_"Now, now. Not all of them ended up eaten. Hidan caught a few of them." Rich laughter followed this statement. "I'm not sure which is worse."_

_A sound from his left had Deidara turning. A shadow was unfolding from one of the chairs. "I like this one. You know the procedure, Sasori. I trust you can handle it." Without showing himself, the shadowed man exited the room._

_Another shadow rose from the other chair. "Come along, then. Leader gets angry when his orders aren't followed immediately and precisely. You'd do well to remember that." Walking into the light was a red-haired male who couldn't have been much older than Deidara._

_"I've seen you, yeah! In Suna," Deidara trailed off as Sasori glared at him._

_"Now is not the time to speak of this. Remain quiet and follow me." With that, the red-head turned and walked through a door different than the one Leader had used. They walked down a hall and turned down another. After a few minutes of turning down various halls, Deidara was utterly and completely lost, which he said aloud. Apparently, that was the point, as Sasori smirked and turned and opened a door to his left. "This is where you will be staying. There are extra clothes in the closet. Someone will come get you when it is time for supper. Do not leave this room. If you do, you will be killed instantly by the movement-triggered alarm system."_

_**%%%%%%%%** _

_Deidara spent the next hour rummaging through his new room. He looked through the dresser and the closet. He nosed into the cabinets on the walls. He even looked under the bed. After he had satisfied his curiosity, he plopped down onto his new bed and fell asleep. The next thing he knew, he was being held up against the wall with a black hand around his neck._

" _ **Look what we have here. A new snack.**_ _" Deidara looked up at the person who was apparently going to eat him._

" _You must be Zetsu, yeah." As he said this, Deidara stared at the strange person's features. Half of his body was black, while the other half was white. His eyes were yellow and, strangest of all, he seemed to be encased within a Venus flytrap._

" _You must be the new kid. Too bad. I was almost looking forward to eating you. Sadly, Leader-sama wants you kept alive. For the time being." Deidara glanced up in surprise at the change in the timbre of Zetsu's voice. Before he had a chance to ask about it, Zetsu dropped him to the ground and turned to leave the room._

" _I'm sure Leader-sama will send for you soon._ _ **Better get ready, kid. You could be in for more than you could ever possibly imagine.**_ _" With that piece of advice, Zetsu left the room._

_An hour later, Sasori knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, he walked in. Seeing Deidara making clay sculptures wasn't really something he expected. Deidara whirled around when Sasori cleared his throat. He rubbed the back of his neck and willed his blush to go away. "I got bored, yeah. I figured I could practice making different shapes for my bombs, yeah."_

_Sasori looked at the various shapes and sizes of the clay figures. There were spiders and birds, even a rabbit. There was also a miniature of Deidara himself. Shaking his head, Sasori turned to Deidara. "Come with me. Leader-sama assigned us a mission. I will fill you in on the way."_

_Deidara jumped up and grabbed his bag. It had all of his things in it. His clay, ninja weapons and tools, a med kit, and extra clothes. Following after Sasori, he struggled not to act like a Genin on his first mission. As they left the little town, Deidara noticed that, when crossing a certain point, Sasori's ring glowed. Like a dam bursting, the questions started pouring forth. "Where are we going, yeah? Why did your ring glow? What's the mission? Are we gonna kill someone, yeah?"_

_Sasori bit back a groan. Of course he had to test out the kid. He was the only one without a partner. But_ why _did he have to get such a talkative little brat? Resigning himself, he tried not to bite the poor kid's head off with his answers. "We are going to a village a few miles away. My ring glowed because we passed through the barrier around the town. And yes, we are going to kill someone. The village's headman is pulling together a militia to try and kill the Akatsuki. Leader-sama wants the headman and his group of rebels to be terminated."_

_Deidara repressed a flinch at the clipped sound of Sasori's voice. Well, damn. He had annoyed his almost-maybe future partner. Great. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Deidara nearly stumbled into Sasori when he suddenly stopped in front of him. When Deidara opened his mouth, a quick glare from Sasori made him shut it…quickly. Sasori grabbed Deidara's arm and pulled him into the trees and pushed him up into the canopy. From their perch above the ground, they saw the approach of two dozen armed men, plus a handful of ninja. At the very back of the makeshift army, Deidara saw the man he supposed they were after. He was the only person atop a horse, and was dressed in richly colored clothes. He wore jewelry instead of armor, and carried no weapons. Obviously he was confident his soldiers could keep the enemy away from him._

_Sasori snorted in disgust. What an idiot. The stupid man must think he was invincible._ 'Well,' _Sasori thought with a smirk,_ 'he's about to learn that he's not.' _Motioning to Deidara, he slipped out the trees and into the bushes a few yards ahead of the soldiers. Deidara followed, quickly making a few clay bombs. Sasori glanced at Deidara and mouthed "Now." With surprising speed, Deidara launched his bombs at the oncoming enemy, then quickly detonated them. The blast rocked them, and Sasori nearly smiled at the sound of his enemies' screams. Deidara glanced at Sasori, then quickly away. His face was twisted into an evil grimace. Shaking off his thoughts, he snatched a few kunai out of his bag and leapt into battle. Sasori followed, and the few minutes was spent killing the soldiers and ninja guarding the headman._

_At last, everyone but the headman was dead. Sasori walked up to the cowering man, trembling beneath his jewels and fine clothes. "You thought you could defeat us with such a small army? You are very foolish."_

_The headman tried to plead for his life. "It will not happen again! I swear it!" He rose to his knees, then winced when Sasori grabbed a fistful of his hair._

_Sasori nodded. "You're right. It won't happen again." In a flash, the headman's body fell to the ground, separated from his head. Sasori turned to Deidara. "Never believe what the enemy says. It is a lie, and will come back to haunt you should you believe it."_

_Deidara nodded, feeling slightly sick. Sasori had beheaded the man so fast, Deidara hadn't even realized it until body fell away. Now he was just holding the thing, calmly waiting for Deidara to pull himself together._

_When Sasori turned and headed back the way they had come, Deidara followed quickly._ 'Note to self: Do NOT get on Sasori's nerves.'

_Three weeks later, Deidara had become an actual member of Akatsuki. Leader had been impressed by Deidara's skills in battle, and the former Iwa ninja was learning more every day. He had found the library, and had read every book he could find about earth style jutsu. He had even thrown in some unexpected twists, like lightning and fire jutsu. Also, he and Sasori were learning how to coordinate themselves with each other in battle. A few years after joining, Tobi came along. He was Zetsu's subordinate, but seemed to like Deidara more. Deidara tolerated him, but couldn't stand him for very long. He was like an annoying little brother. After a while, everyone came to accept Tobi as one of their own, often overlooking his mistakes and childlike behavior. They had become almost like a family. Deidara snorted. Yeah right. Like a family of rabid dogs. They were nearly always fighting with one person or another. But it was normal. And everything was great._

Until the little pink-haired kunoichi from Konoha recaptured Itachi's attention. When Deidara first noticed it, he had nearly laughed out loud. All this time, he had thought Itachi might be swinging on the other side of the fence. But to find out that, not only was he straight, but he was in love with a tiny little thing with hair the color of bubblegum! It was just too funny. For weeks after he stopped his secret tea meetings with the kunoichi, Itachi had been off balance. Slowly, he had regained his cold, emotionless façade. Until…he began to dream about her. At first, Deidara thought he was having nightmares, since the Uchiha would yell out into the night. When Itachi had yelled out Sakura's name one night, the blonde had realized that Itachi wasn't having nightmares. He was having wet dreams! Deidara couldn't look at the moody Uchiha without bursting into laughter.

Finally, Itachi had given in and sought out his pink-haired distraction. Deidara was surprised when Itachi had returned after only two days. He had thought that the Uchiha would want to leave Akatsuki. It became apparent that his brief encounter with Sakura hadn't gone well. Itachi got drunk one night, which was very unusual, and ended up admitting to Kisame that he had practically raped Sakura. Kisame had told the others, which he regretted the next day when he regained consciousness from the brutal beating Itachi had subjected him to. A few months later, Itachi's little necklace jutsu had informed them that Sakura was pregnant. Even after deciding to go to Konoha, Itachi had stayed at the base a few more weeks. Then the real nightmares started. Everyone noticed that Itachi was losing sleep, and was even more moody than before. Finally, he left for Konoha, making the rest of the men heave a sigh of relief. When Itachi returned with Sakura and the twins, everyone noticed the significant changes in the formerly emotionless man. He smiled now. He was a good father. And, most importantly, he was truly in love with the little kunoichi.

Deidara had noticed a change in Tobi, too. He seemed more secretive lately. And he was very intent on the twins. Deidara began to feel paranoid. He was sure nothing was going on. Then, he found the note in Shin's crib. He clutched it in his fist and rushed to find Sakura. He met her as she was walking into the living room.

When she saw his stricken expression, she paled. "What's wrong, Deidara?" she whispered. When he swallowed and looked down at the note in his hand, Sakura snatched it out and read it.

_Hope you don't mind; I've borrowed your son. Too bad you probably won't see him again. At least you have another kid to replace him._

She gasped and paled even more, then whirled around to take it to Itachi. He burst into the room, his face darkened with fury, the Mangekyou swirling in his eyes. Deidara was up against the wall with Itachi's hand around his neck before he could blink. _'Well, I've never been in_ this _situation before,'_ he thought dryly.

"What the hell happened? Where is my son?" Itachi bit the words out, punctuating the words by slamming Deidara into the wall.

"I don't know, yeah. I was coming to see Mai and I saw that Shin was gone. Then I found the note, yeah. I can't believe he took him, yeah." Deidara shook his head sadly.

Sakura had grabbed up Mai when Itachi went after Deidara. She cradled the baby to her chest as tears coursed down her cheeks. A sob broke through her silence, making Itachi glance to the side. Deidara broke his weakened hold easily, only to watch as the Uchiha strode to his lover's side. He touched his forehead to hers and wrapped his arms around her and his daughter. Deidara was the only witness to the family's grief. And he would certainly never tell of the heartrending expression on Sakura's face, or the tears falling from Itachi's eyes.

**%%%%%%%%%%%**

Within the hour, nearly all of the Akatsuki was searching for Tobi and Shin. Zetsu was the only one who could find the slightest trail, and even he had trouble. It seemed Tobi had kept a good many secrets. Itachi was like a demon in his pursuit of his son's kidnapper. Sakura had stayed back at the base with Konan and Mai, surrounded in a myriad of genjutsu and barriers layered around them. Itachi wasn't taking any chances on Sakura and Mai's safety. For three days, they searched for Tobi. With each passing hour, Itachi went a little crazier.

Kisame was truly worried about him. Looking over to Itachi, he could tell that his friend was nearly at the end of his rope. "C'mon, Itachi. We have to head back now." He flinched when Itachi glared at him, the Mangekyou even darker red than usual.

" _No_. I will find my son, and kill the one who took him. I refuse to go back without him." Itachi's voice was scratchy and gruff, his eyes red rimmed. He stopped running and pressed his head against a tree. "Fine. I need to check on Sakura and Mai. Maybe the bastard will try to ran-" Itachi's voice broke. His whole body shook with the effort not to keep searching. He would be of no use to Shin if he became exhausted. Slowly, Itachi got a grip on himself. Kisame dropped a hand on Itachi's shoulder. They turned and headed home.

Hearing a whisper of movement, Sakura woke up to Itachi entering the room. She wrapped her arms around his neck after he had climbed wearily into the bed and held him as tight as she could. For a long while, the saddened family held onto each other. Finally, Konan knocked on the door, a sad look on her face as she walked into the room. "I'm sorry, Itachi-san, Sakura-chan. Zetsu found another note. It says that the kidnapper is willing to trade Shin for Sakura." Konan's eyes began to fill with tears as she left them to deal with this latest development.

Sakura turned to Itachi. "I want to do it. I'm willing to trade my life for our son's." She smiled sadly when Itachi's eyes glinted. "Don't try to stop me. You've always said I'm too selfless. But this…this is selfish. I want my son to live and grow up to be a great man. I want that enough to sacrifice myself for him. You have to let me go, Itachi. It'll be okay. I promise."

Itachi tightened his arms around Sakura. "I can't let you go, Sakura. I can't lose you. I won't let you do this."

Sakura's hands pushed at Itachi's chest. "I have to, Itachi. I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to get him back."

"We'll talk about this later. Right now, I need rest so I can continue searching for Shin." Itachi kissed Mai's forehead, then Sakura's lips. "I love you, Blossom,"he murmured, voice muffled by the kunoichi's lips.

Sakura's eyes widened at his admission. Then she smiled. "I love you, too, Itachi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is unconscionably long because it was originally three separate chapters. Not entirely sure why I went into such depths about Deidara's past, but it felt wrong to cut it out when I rewrote.


	10. Revenge

**Chapter Ten**

**Revenge**

**I don't own Naruto, nor do I receive monetary compensation for the writing of this story.**

* * *

Tip-toeing out of a top-secret base filled with S-class criminals was not something Sakura ever thought she would be doing. However, worrying all night about her kidnapped son had pushed her a little bit closer to the edge of reason. Itachi had held off on sleep until he believed her to be asleep, so she had had plenty of time to formulate a plan. Itachi would probably want to strangle her for this, but he probably wouldn't get the chance. You see, Sakura was going to meet Tobi. She didn't know why he had taken her son, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him keep Shin. Placing a silencing jutsu around herself hadn't been easy, since everyone here would sense her chakra levels rise. She had managed it, though. Letting her chakra rise as if she were having a nightmare was pretty easy, but casting the jutsu right beside Itachi made things way trickier. Hopefully, it would be morning before anyone noticed her absence. As she slipped through the front door, she whispered into the night, "I'm coming, Shin. Just hold on!"

#####

Itachi was sleeping peacefully, something that only happened when Sakura was with him. Suddenly, Sasuke appeared in the middle of the field Itachi was dreaming about. He looked worried, and a bit scared. "Itachi, you have to get up! Sakura sneaked out to go get Shin. She isn't going to survive if she does this by herself! You have to help her!" When Itachi showed no signs of listening, Sasuke punched his brother square in his jaw. "GO!" Sasuke yelled. He then disappeared, taking the peace with him.

Bolting upright in his bed, Itachi felt his jaw, wincing when he touched the bruise that, apparently, his brother had just given him. Out of habit, he reached to Sakura's side if the bed, only to find it empty and cold. With a growl of anger and betrayal, Itachi flew out of bed and into his clothes, sparing only a few precious seconds to grab weapons. By this time, Kisame and Sasori had opened their doors, trying to figure out who was making so much racket. When Itachi whirl-winded into the hall, he saw the two standing there. He growled out, "Keep my daughter safe," and was gone before either of them could even draw a breath to reply. They looked at each other for a second before they turned back into their rooms, only to return a minute later with various supplies. Kisame had a pillow, a blanket, and some food; Sasori was dragging Deidara, along with two pillows and blankets. They sighed and went to the living room-turned-nursery. Kisame flopped down onto the couch. "This is gonna be a long night." Sasori nodded and kicked Deidara in the head. The blonde didn't even stop snoring. "Long night, indeed," Sasori replied.

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Sakura crept through the bushes, in search of some kind of sign that would lead her to Shin and, in effect, Tobi. She had come upon a small building deep in the woods. In it, she found disturbing photos of her and her family. Someone had drawn her throat being slit; Itachi's picture was ripped in two at the neck; Mai and Shin's pictures were burned and crumpled. Sakura repressed a shudder. A noise outside caused her to still and even out her breathing, remembering all of her shinobi training from the past few years. Hiding was better than charging in sometimes, so she cloaked herself with a high-level genjutsu and waited. Her waiting wasn't in vain. A few seconds later, Tobi came into the little hut, holding Shin out in front of him as far as his arms would reach.

"Stupid little brat. Just wait till your daddy gets here, the cowardly weasel," Tobi spoke in a deeper, more menacing voice than Sakura had ever heard him use. Tobi dropped Shin onto a chair softly then went to take off his mask. "Hello, Sakura. Good of you to join us. You've made my plan so much simpler. I assumed Itachi would leave you behind, but it seems you've switched the roles." A chuckle sounded from behind the mask as Tobi reached up and unhooked the elastic holding the mask to his face, letting it fall into his hands as he turned to Sakura.

Sakura gasped. " _Obito? But…how?"_ Obito Uchiha was glaring at her, one eye sealed shut and scarred, the other whirling with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sakura felt Inner rush to help her hold off Obito, but it was useless. He was too powerful to even delay. Sakura was thrown into the world of the Mangekyou once again.

**##########**

_Sakura was strapped to a pole with her arms above her head. The Uchiha walked around Sakura, simply studying her. "Why, Obito? Why are you doing this?" Sakura asked._

_He laughed. "You really think I'm Obito? My word, you are a naïve little chit." At Sakura's confused look, the man sighed. "Yes, this is Obito's body, but_ I _am Madara. Finally she gets it!" he exclaimed after Sakura's confusion turned to realization._

" _But...why did you want my baby? What does he possibly have that can benefit you?" Sakura asked as Madara came to stand in front of her._

" _My dear child, the little brat isn't what I wanted. I wanted YOU. You are a powerful kunoichi, even more so than even Tsunade. If you were to bear my children, they would be infinitely powerful. Even with just Itachi as the father, those children of yours are very powerful as infants. They already have chakra networks, which most shinobi don't fully develop until they begin the academy. But, Itachi isn't powerful enough. He didn't want to obey me all those years ago. I had to force his compliance by threatening all that he held dear. I told him I would kill you and his pathetic little brother if he didn't cleanse the Uchiha line of the weak idiots who had taken it over and were driving the once-honorable clan into the ground. Even that didn't work. I finally had to take over his mind to get it done."_

_Sakura looked dumbfounded. "You...made him kill his family? You're the one who made him leave?" As Sakura's mind flitted through this new information, she got angrier and angrier. "You're why Itachi kept pushing Sasuke so hard? He wanted Sasuke to be able to beat you, not him." Sakura shook her head. "I'm so going to kill you for all that you've done to him, to them. Not to mention kidnapping my son and even_ thinking _about me having your children. You sick bastard, you're old enough to be my grandfather. No thanks, cradle-robber." Sakura grinned at Madara, who was turning purple with his rage._

" _You little bitch. You will suffer for that. Or perhaps I should punish the little whelp." Madara waved a hand and a cradle holding Shin appeared. The Uchiha grinned maniacally when Sakura growled. "I love a girl with spirit. That's another reason I chose you. If you had been like that annoying little Hyuuga girl, too timid to even speak, I never would've even looked twice at you. You have more spirit than that Yamanaka girl, though she would deny it to the end."_

_Sakura growled again. "Don't talk about them! You don't deserve to even think about anyone from that village. You helped create the village! You were the First Hokage's friend! How could you betray that?"_

_Madara cackled. "You silly little bitch. You think I ever cared about that village? I only wanted power. My brother and I founded the Uchiha clan because we knew it would become the most powerful clan in all of Konoha. But as time passed, we saw that the leaders we had appointed were growing complacent and greedy. The once-great clan was falling into ruins. I had to stop them, so I took my brother's eyes and gained the heightened form of the Mangekyou. With it, I coerced the Kyuubi to attack Konoha so the Uchiha clan could regain its lost glory. But the idiots had lost their skill. Most of their best fighters died that night. Have you ever wondered why Itachi's father was so hard on him? I paid him a visit after Itachi was born. I convinced daddy-dearest that Itachi needed more discipline than he himself had had as a child. Itachi was always meant to be the leader of the clan. He alone had the power to bring back my clan's honor and glory. But he was weak. I made him strong. Just look at him now. Emotionless...no pesky feelings to get in the way of his rise to power. Until_ you _came along. Little bitch."_

_Sakura's eyes widened as Madara charged her with a sword. However, before the cold metal touched her skin, a barrier had formed around her. Madara and Sakura both stared at the barrier of chakra, tinged black with streaks of pink and blue, in shock. Madara glared at Sakura. "I didn't do this. My chakra is pink. And the only other person here is...oh, my god," she trailed off with wide eyes. They both turned to look at Shin, who was still laying in the crib that Madara had conjured inside the Mangekyou. Shin's body was surrounded by a blaze of chakra, simultaneously pitch black, bubblegum pink, and electric blue. However, the barrier around himself and Sakura didn't last long. In fact, Shin disappeared altogether. Sakura cried out and then gasped, first for her son, then because Madara's blade had slid into her belly with no resistance. In the next instance, Sakura felt herself pulled from the Mangekyou._

**############**

Sakura gasped as she came back herself. She looked up to see a man's back, holding Shin and blocking her sight of Madara. _Itachi._ Sakura sighed in relief. She knew she'd be in for a major dressing-down later, but she was glad he was there all the same. She touched her hand to his back, then laid her cheek against his shoulder. Without taking his eyes from Madara's still form, he handed Shin to Sakura. "Take him home. I'll be there shortly. _Now_ , Sakura," he demanded when she made a sound of protest. Sakura slowly nodded then, after kissing his cheek, turned and ran from the little hut.

Madara grinned bloodily from where he lay across the room, where Itachi had thrown him. "Oh, Itachi. I can't believe you never knew. I was right there in front of you and you never even guessed."

Itachi grunted and took a defensive stance as the older man stood up. "I thought you said words were unimportant, Madara- _sama_ ," Itachi said, turning the honorific into an insult. Madara snarled and jumped at Itachi, who quickly dodged the other man's attempt.

"I am not a thirteen year old child anymore. You will find fighting me to be quite different from all those years ago," Itachi said tonelessly.

Madara threw back his head and positively _cackled_ at Itachi's words. "You fool boy! No matter how old you are, you can never beat me! I taught you, Itachi. I know your every mo-" Madara's gloating words were cut off by Itachi dropping to his knee and slamming a chakra-filled fist to the floor of the cabin. Madara's eyes widened as he recognized the signature move of the Slug Sannin's apprentice. "So she's been teaching you, hmm? This is turning out to be interesting."

Itachi winced a bit as he felt splinters enter his skin. _"No wonder Sakura wears those gloves,"_ he thought as he pulled a large splinter from between his bloody knuckles. Madara blinked. When his eyes opened, Itachi was gone. "Parlor tricks, Itachi? I thought you were here for a _real_ fight."

Itachi stood behind Madara and a bit to the left, in his blind spot. Much like the Hyuuga's Byakugan, Madara's heightened Sharingan had an almost 360 degree sight range. When Madara growled and pulled a kunai, Itachi burst into action. He leapt forward and shoved a kunai at Madara's heart, only to fly through the air as Madara disappeared. Itachi braced himself for the blow that Madara would surely retaliate with, but was disappointed when none came. He looked up to see Madara holding his bloody left arm.

"Getting a bit slow in your dotage, Uncle*?" Itachi smirked as Madara's good eye seemed to glow a brighter red in his anger. Itachi, who had been fighting so far without the use of his Sharingan, slowly called on that power now. "It seems you were wrong about a few things. One: emotions do not make you weaker; they make you stronger. Having something to fight for gives a person more strength than discipline and training. Two: There is another level to the Mangekyou, one that cannot be reached by bloodshed and betrayal. I discovered it a few weeks ago, and have now mastered it."

Madara help back a gasp as Itachi's Mangekyou swirled and transformed. Instead of a triangular shape with little circles, it was now completely covering his iris. In the very center of his blackened iris was a small red dot, which Itachi could make bigger or smaller. This was basically the focus for his new eyes. The new form of Sharingan took less than half the strain of the other forms, even the weakest one. It was ironically the most powerful form.

Itachi's body seemed to blur and then was gone. Madara's head whipped around from side to side. "Come now, Itachi. Back to this?" he asked in false bravado, trying to cover the fact that he was now slightly scared of his former pupil-turned-slave. Itachi's foot appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Madara's stomach, doubling him over. Itachi flashed to stand behind Madara, kicking him in the ass and sending him into an impromptu somersault. The stoic younger Uchiha was practically grinning at making his former tormentor look like an idiot. Well, grinning as well as Itachi Uchiha was able.

Madara howled in anger. Itachi's grin widened. Walking over to stand above Madara, he looked down at the man coldly. "As head of the Uchiha clan, I hereby rescind your authority over the Uchiha household. I also rescind your ability to use the Uchiha name. You are no longer a part of this clan." Madara glared up at Itachi, unable to move from the blows that had stolen his breath.

Itachi, with a look of slight regret on his face, slowly formed a set of handseals for a forbidden and little-known jutsu, used to strip a ninja of all his chakra pathways and leave him as a regular citizen, unable to use jutsu ever again. " _Forbidden Jutsu: Chakra Release."_ Madara screamed as his chakra pathways were slowly drawn back into the center of his body. A few seconds later, every bit of Madara's chakra was expelled from his body. He lay there, panting and gasping for air as the pain slowly subsided. Itachi turned to walk away, but stopped at the door. "You wonder why I didn't just kill you. To kill you would be merciful; to leave you in a weakened state, and without any use of chakra or jutsu, is more punishment to you. If you come near my family ever again, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Madara watched as Itachi disappeared in a swirl of black flames. He howled as he tried, without success, to build any chakra. The Uchiha elder refused to let the little brat win, though. Pulling himself up to his feet, the man stumbled out the door and into the woods.

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Itachi returned to the base within minutes of leaving Madara. Taking away his jutsu had really been a cruel punishment, but one Itachi felt the older man deserved. Whether the mad Uchiha survived was up to the kami now.

Walking into the living room was like walking into a war zone. Diapers were everywhere, as were bottles and various toys. Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara were all in the middle of the floor, sound asleep. Mai was in her crib, gurgling happy to her returned brother. It sounded like they were having a conversation in baby-speak. Itachi shook his head and looked around. Sakura walked in and smiled a bit. Then she got serious. "Itachi, I'm sorry I ran off. I had to save Shin, though! I couldn't leave my son to that...that _thing_."

Itachi looked at her and nearly smiled at the way she held herself. He body language was defensive, even a bit aggressive, and her face was a mixture of hope and pleading. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "I know, Sakura. I'm not angry. I was...worried. I don't usually feel that emotion for people. You and Sasuke have been the only ones I have worried over. I don't like it."

Sakura giggled. "Oh, I know. You like being in control. I understand that. I am sorry, though. I would say I won't do anything like it again...but that would be a lie. If either of our children are ever in danger, nothing will stop me from protecting them."

The proud parents each picked up a baby and moved to their bedroom. The rest of the day was spent focusing on being a family. Eventually, they moved back into the living room, where Kisame and Deidara promptly swiped the twins from their parents and proceeded to play _uncle_. Sasori glanced at Itachi and Sakura then back to the men making fools of themselves with baby talk. Sighing regretfully, he stood and joined in the foolishness, smirking the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I likened Itachi calling Madara Uncle to Hinata calling Neji brother in the Chuunin exams.
> 
> I also expounded on my own theory that Itachi wasn't under his own power during the massacre. Anyone notice how "glassy" his eyes looked when he confronted Sasuke that night? Like he was possessed.


	11. Past, Present, and Future

**Chapter Eleven**

**Past, Present, and Future**

**I don't own any aspect of Naruto.**

* * *

"Itachi, do you remember your Chûnin Exam?" Sakura asked as they lay in bed the next morning.

Itachi looked over at her questioningly.

"Well, I just...our exam was so...disastrous. I was wondering if yours was any better?" Sakura glanced at her lover. His eyes had glazed over a bit, her question sending his mind to the past.

"I was in a three-man squad with Hana Inuzuka and a kid from a civilian family. We passed the first part of the exam with no troubles. Of course, we still had Ibiki as our examiner. Anko wasn't in charge of the second part, however. We were actually lucky. One of Hana's dogs got poisoned by a giant centipede, and the civilian kid got a few cuts, but we were one of the first teams to the end," Itachi said.

Sakura laughed. "You mean _the_ first team. I know you. Nothing but the best," she mocked as she leaned over and kissed him.

"I was there, you know," Itachi mumbled.

Sakura sat back, blinking in confusion. "You were where?"

Looking a bit uncomfortable, Itachi took a moment to answer. "I was at your Chûnin Exam. After Sasuke was bitten by Orochimaru. You never wondered why crows would be in the middle of the Forbidden Forest?"

Sakura's face scrunched up as she tried to remember. "To be honest, I don't really remember that much about that part of the exam. I remember fighting Orochimaru, and Naruto and Sasuke being hurt, but I don't really remember much more until after I calmed down from the near-hysteria. But, yeah, I think I do remember those crows. Why were you there?"

"To look out for you. I hesitated to stop Orochimaru from biting Sasuke. I regret that now. Back then I thought that if he was to be able to defeat Madara, he should be able to defeat that snake with little trouble. My assumption is ultimately what led to Sasuke's insanity and death." Itachi looked away from Sakura, not willing to see the condemnation he knew was in her eyes.

A soft hand on his jaw brought his face back around to hers. "I don't blame you, Itachi. I don't think Sasuke would, either. Have you been blaming yourself for Sasuke's death all this time?"

A knot formed in Itachi's throat, making it impossible to speak. Sakura smiled softly. "I know how you feel. Right after his death, I kept thinking that maybe, if I hadn't been so weak back then, we could've defeated Orochimaru and Sasuke would've stayed in the village. Then I realize that if he hadn't left, I never would've gone searching for him, and you never would've come back for me. In a way, it's the best thing that could've happened. I feel horrible for saying that, since it led to Sasuke's death, but I think he's better off now than he ever was alive." Sakura shuddered at the memory of the inside of Sasuke's crazed mind. "He was so confused and lost. It started way before the clan massacre, too. I honestly think he was born a little off, and having you as his older brother, who he could never beat, just added onto it. Plus your father's favoritism towards you, the massacre, being infected by that freak, and seeing Naruto's power grow faster than his own, it's no wonder he ended up so insane."

Itachi glanced at Sakura, knowing she had blabbered more as a way to distract him than to really say anything. "He wasn't, you know. My father. He didn't favor me at all. I was a tool; Sasuke was the real favorite. Mom's favorite, too. She tried not to show it, but she was scared of me." Itachi hung his head. "They all were. I was just a weapon to be used when they needed me, and avoided the rest of the time because I was unstable and heartless."

Sakura blinked. " _He sounds so much like Gaara. It's so heartbreaking how alone they both were, even surrounded by so many people."_ " _ **I wonder how Gaara's doing since he became Kazekage, if he still feels so lonely?"**_

Blinking again to refocus on her lover, Sakura wrapped her arms around him. "Itachi...you know that I love you right? You also know that I'm not scared of you, not anymore. I was for awhile, after the massacre, but now I trust you. And I know you love me, too."

Itachi barked a humorless little laugh. "I sacrificed _everything_ so that Sasuke would live and be strong. My family, my best friend, my _sanity_ , _you_ , even a piece of my soul. And I couldn't bring myself to stop Orochimaru from infecting him, or his death. Even with my strength and power, I'm useless to save the ones I love." Feelings that he had pushed into the far recesses of his mind came flooding back at Sakura's quiet words of reassurance. The self-loathing, the worthlessness, the taint of the evil that Madara had pushed into him that night; it was all whirling inside his head until he thought he would go even more insane – if that was possible.

Even with the jutsu Madara had placed him under that night to numb his conscience and feelings of abject horror and disgust with himself, he could still remember that night perfectly. The solid weight of his katana as he sliced down cousins and friends, aunts and uncles, grandparents and children. The cold indifference that swept over him as his own family started to fight back, just like when he was on a mission. Sickly, his mind kept returning the thought that everyone believed him to be a monster without control. " _I guess I proved them all right."_

Itachi grimaced at his morose thoughts. His last days in Konoha had been brutal. The secrecy that his double agent status forced him into was nearly unbearable. The one thing that helped him through was his cousin and best friend, Shisui. To find out that Shisui was also a double agent, working for the clan elders to keep an eye on Itachi's movements, was his breaking point.

**########**

_The day he met Shisui at the river, he gave him a choice. He could side with Itachi and live, or they would fight to the death. Itachi was confident in his resolve to ultimately kill the teen who was like a brother to him, but when it came down to it, he hesitated. That hesitation was nearly his undoing. He felt the blade of Shisui's katana slice through his chest, barely missing his heart and lungs. That was Shisui's final mistake, letting Itachi close enough to strike; even with a katana through his chest, he had enough strength to grip Shisui's neck in a hold tight enough to cut off all his air. Their battle had taken only ten minutes, something that still astounded Itachi since it felt like it had taken infinitely longer. The two had trained together and sparred so often, they knew each others' moves. After the life had drained out of the boy, Itachi carefully laid his body on the ground and set to work on healing his own wounds. Though he refused to admit it, his vision wasn't blurry due to blood loss, but rather to tears. Even today, he felt unworthy to have cried over the body of someone who had meant so much to him, somebody he had just murdered._

_As he walked onto the river and let Shisui's body slip into the fast-moving current, Itachi felt his eyes change. His head seemed to burst at the new influx of visual information. Better than the regular Sharingan by multiple times, the Mangekyou Sharingan drove it home what Itachi had done. After he composed himself, Itachi went home and changed, only to be forcefully questioned by the same clan elders that had turned his best friend against him. His kunai was itching to taste their blood, but he couldn't risk the mission given to him by the Sandaime Hokage; instead, he threw the weapon at the crest in the wall across the courtyard with enough force to drive the sharp tool halfway to the hilt into the wall and to send cracks spidering away from it._

**#########**

Now that he really thought about it, it was pretty symbolic: Itachi had broken the Uchiha crest when he threw that kunai, just as he had broken his family, Sasuke's mind, and his own sense of right and wrong. He felt Sakura tighten her grip on him and looked down to see tears in her eyes. Only then did he realize he had said all of that out loud. Sakura's eyes hardened after a few seconds. "If I could, I would make Danzo pay a thousand-fold for what he made you do. That man is a disgrace to Konoha."

Itachi looked down at his little blossom, surprised at her vehemence. He smiled his tiny little smile at her, then kissed her lips softly. When he pulled away, Sakura smiled widely up at him. "I love you, too, Itachi. Now, what do we do? We've had a family, killed your archenemy, and started on making the Akatsuki less of a pig-sty. What's next?"

Itachi chuckled. "We go back to Konoha and get married. I believe your friend's wedding was interrupted, also. Perhaps we could let Tsunade watch over the twins while we take a honeymoon."

Sakura blinked. "Well. I certainly wasn't expecting that. I thought we had to stay here for the sealing, not that I'm happy about that, by the way."

"We do, but that will only take three or four days. If you helped, it would take less time, of course," Itachi said, looking down at her with an innocent expression.

Sakura chuckled. "Not a chance in hell. C'mon. Let's go see what the guys are doing."

"Why, Sakura. You're going to go out into public without taking a shower first?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess seeing the others can wait ten minutes."

Itachi stood up, stark naked, and pulled Sakura into his arms. He walked across the room and opened the door. "I believe it will take longer than ten minutes," he said as he crossed the hall and opened the bathroom door. He didn't fail to notice Deidara's squeak of shock as he walked into the hall and saw them, or Kisame's choking cough as he laughed at Itachi's lack of propriety. Sakura just laughed as he shut the door. ...It took a lot longer than ten minutes...

Later, The other men were all gathered in the living room/nursery. Itachi walked in with his arm around Sakura's shoulders. Kisame looked up from the sofa, holding Mai, with a slightly guilty look on his face. Deidara, holding Shin, did the same. Sakura immediately went into protective mother-mode. "What in the hell are you two looking so guilty for?"

Kisame blushed, turning his cheeks a bit purple. Deidara's blush turned his entire face red, sorta like Hinata's when Naruto was close to her. Kisame spoke first. "Well, you see...we were uhh...talking to the kids."

Deidara laughed. "Yeah. We were telling them how they shouldn't cry, 'cause Daddy wasn't hurting Mommy; they were just...uh...trying to make Mai and Shin a little brother or sister, yeah."

Sakura scowled fiercely. "If they weren't too young to understand you, I would kick both of your asses."

Sasori, Zetsu, Hidan, and Kakuzu were all trying not to laugh. Sakura whirled on them. "And _you_ four. I'll bet you guys put your two cents in, too, didn't you?"

The four in question stopped laughing and started looking at Sakura a bit strangely. " _What_?" she snapped.

Sasori cleared his throat and spoke. "Sakura-san, your eyes. They're... _pink_."

Sakura blinked and shook her head. "I had forgotten about that. Anger always made Sasuke-kun's Sharingan activate. Makes sense that mine would, too," she said softly.

Hidan choked. "Sharingan? What the fuck are you talking about? That's an Uchiha thing, girlie. Last I heard, you're from a nobody clan with no ties to the Uchiha."

Sakura turned her eerie pink Sharingan eyes to Hidan. "Does it look like I'm lying, Hidan- _kun_? And I'm not from a nobody clan. The Haruno clan is actually well-known for our Jounin-level genjutsu users, and for geniuses...like myself."

Itachi smirked. "She's right. They're not very well-known outside of the village, but Haruno clan members often give the Uchiha clan members a run for their money in the Academy. Most of the time, if a Haruno and an Uchiha are in the same year, they tie for first in ranking. I believe Sakura-chan beat Sasuke in their year."

Sakura blushed and smiled at Itachi, who felt his breath hitch at the sight of her Sharingan. " _Beautiful,"_ he thought. He smirked again. "Ne, Sakura-chan. Why don't you show Hidan just what you can do with that Sharingan?"

Sakura smiled and flexed her hand. "Let's take this to the training area, huh?" She led the way as the other men trailed along behind her like puppies. Once in the training area, she walked calmly to the middle and slowly pulled her gloves on. She took a defensive stance and watched as Hidan drew his scythe and charged at her. Hidan swung his mighty scythe and missed the pink haired kunoichi by mere inches as she ducked. Sakura grabbed the scythe and ripped it from the shinobi's hand, throwing it across the arena where it clattered against a tree.

"You little bitch!" yelled Hidan as he charged again, this time with his bare hands.

The silver-haired shinobi threw a barrage of kunai and threw a left hook towards Sakura's cheek. Sakura smirked even as his blow connected and retaliated with a powerful kick to Hidan's chest. Hidan staggered back, grabbing his chest. Another sharp pain from where his hand touched told him that his sternum had been shattered.

"Who's the bitch now?" asked Sakura with an evil laugh.

Hidan began to laugh hysterically, "We're about to see who the bitch is, kunoichi." He shook his head in mock-grief. "You really shouldn't have let me hit you." He smirked as he licked his knuckles - knuckles which were spattered with Sakura's blood. " _Now! Let's savor the utmost of suffering together!_ " ***** yelled the shinobi, stepping into a symbol he had drawn on the ground with his foot.

"Ano, Itachi-san?" stuttered Deidara.

"Hn?" grunted Itachi.

"Hidan-san is kind of taking this fight a little too far, don't you think?" asked Deidara, fidgeting his fingers.

"Look at Sakura's eyes," replied Itachi with a smirk.

"What about th...oh. I see now. She's been toying around," said Deidara.

Hidan stepped into the symbol and began to change appearance. Sakura stood paralyzed as Hidan drew a long dagger from his ninja pack. The Jashinist raised the dagger and quickly thrust it towards his chest. A loud echo of gasps filled the air as the blade stopped just inches from his chest.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Kisame, confused.

"He's trapped in her Mangekyou Sharingan," replied Itachi.

"But...I thought Mangekyou could only be achieved by killing the person closest to you?" Deidara said, more confused than ever.

"I believe that Sakura-san has a distinct advantage over the Uchiha, Deidara-kun," said Sasori.

Itachi nodded. "Sakura's jutsu allows her to absorb any attack that uses chakra. She asked me to subject to the advanced forms of the Sharingan so that she could obtain them as well," he said.

The others nodded and continued to watch the two motionless figures in the middle of the arena.

**#########**

_Hidan thrust the dagger towards his chest, awaiting the familiar rush of pleasure and pain; however, when it touched his flesh, it squeaked._

_"What the fuck?" yelled Hidan._

_"Now, now, Hidan. That's no way for a little boy to be talking. Does little Hidan need a time out?" asked a voice softly._

_"Little boy? I'm a fucking man!" yelled Hidan in a higher voice than usual._

_Feeling dread coil in his stomach, Hidan felt his face and body and then ran to a mirror._

_"What the fuck have you done to me, you insane little whore?" yelled Hidan._

_"Oh, Hidan. I should wash your mouth out with soap. Too bad I don't have any. Oh, well. I guess you'll just have to go to your room," said the disembodied voice._

_Before Hidan could reply, he was in his old room back in his village of Yugakure._

_"There will be no swearing, no playing with your toys, and definitely no trying to escape while in time out. You've been warned," said the voice gently._

_Hidan muttered under his breath as he went to his table of torture tools. "Fuck you!" yelled the chibi shinobi, grabbing a knife and thrusting it towards his chest. The knife squeaked and bent nearly in half on his bony chest. As he dropped his knife, the room's walls began to turn pink._

_"What the hell is fucking happening here?" muttered Hidan as the carpet began to turn pink. Hidan grabbed another knife from the table. "Please put me out of my misery!" he cried, thrusting the knife into his chest only to hear a squeak again._

_Hidan ran to the door and twisted the knob as the whole room was engulfed in hot pink. He yanked open the door and ran out, only to scream as the sight of Lee and Gai in speedos and dancing entered his line of sight. Hidan turned and fled back to his room. Arms braced against the door, arms splayed as if to block entry, Hidan gasped for breath as he tried to mentally scourge the horrible scene he had just walked in on. He took a step into the room,only to be cuffed to the wall by the sudden appearance of thick chains. Sakura appeared in front of him in a swirl of cherry blossoms._

_Smirking, Hidan chuckled. "Bondage, Sakura? Aren't you a kinky little thing?"_

_Sakura scowled and walked up to Hidan. "If it wasn't a turn-on for you, I'd slap you right now. As it is, I think this will have to do." Taking another step forward, she pulled out obviously doctored pictures of Hidan committing sexual acts with various Akatsuki members. With an evil grin, she showed him the first one, which showed Hidan and Kakuzu putting Hidan's dexterity and Kakuzu's strings to...interesting uses. Hidan's eyes widened and he choked on the myriad of curses trying to flow out of his mouth. The next showed the mouths on Deidara's hands being put to good use. Sakura knew from walking in on Deidara in the bathroom...doing something that she definitively did NOT want to see...his hands were like black holes! Hidan's eyes rolled to the back his head. Sakura kept on with the pictures and finally, the last one showed Hidan and a certain big-breasted Hokage._

"Guess I shouldn't have shown him that one," _Sakura thought as drool ran down Hidan's chin._

_Finally, Sakura smacked Hidan's cheek lightly to wake him up from his dirty-minded haze. "Do you understand now, Hidan?"_

_Hidan blinked and nodded slowly. "Alright, Sakura-chan. I'm the bitch. Can you let me go now?"_

_Sakura laughed and the cuffs holding Hidan to the wall disappeared._

_##########_

A second later, they were back in the training arena. Sakura flounced over to Itachi and kissed him full on the lips. "I love you, Itachi," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Deidara and Kisame looked at each, then at Sakura and Itachi, and started making kissing noises. Sasori whacked both of them on the head. "Leave them alone, you childish imbeciles."

The two looked at each other over the top of Sasori's head and grinned. They each looped an arm under the much-shorter Suna nin and lifted him up, only to carry him away and drop him into the little sandbox that Deidara and Sasori had built for Mai and Shin, regardless of how young they were and the fact that the twins were much too young to even be around the sand.

Itachi and Sakura paid them no attention, used to their antics by now. Itachi pulled away slowly. "I have to go into the town for awhile. Behave, Sakura," he said as he kissed her forehead softly.

Sakura giggled and smirked. "Of course, 'tachi-kun. Hurry back."

Nodding, Itachi disappeared in a whirlwind of black flames.

Walking out of the underground arena, Sakura went upstairs to see to Mai and Shin. She found the twins sitting up in their cribs, eyes wide open and taking in their surroundings. Sakura gasped and took a step back, only to bump into Kisame. She turned around quickly. "Kisame, they're sitting up by themselves! They haven't even been trying to do that yet. They should still be developing that balance."

Kisame looked between the distraught kunoichi to the twins. "Sakura-chan, whose children are they?"

Sakura looked confused. "What do you mean, Kisame? What does that have to do with anything?"

Kisame smiled softly. "Sakura-chan, their parents are the two smartest shinobi from Konoha. Itachi said that he developed very quickly as a child, and I'm guessing you did, too, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yeah. My mom said that she was scared at how fast I developed. I guess it makes sense that Mai and Shin would develop even faster than either of us." Breathing out a sigh of relief, she smiled up at Kisame. "Thanks, Kisame-kun. I really freaked out for a second there, didn't I?"

Kisame laughed as they walked over to the twins. He picked Mai up and cradled her in his massive arms. The little girl smiled up at the shark man, making his breath catch just like every other time she had smiled at him.

Sakura looked up from where she was tickling Shin. "That means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Kisame looked up and met Sakura's gaze. "What? The fact that this innocent little baby _smiles_ at me like I'm a normal person and not a monster? You're fucking right, Sakura-chan."

"You're not a monster, Kisame. Your physical appearance has nothing to do with what you're like inside, and anybody who says different can talk to my fist," Sakura said fiercely.

Kisame's reply was interrupted by Hidan's cry of, "Holy motherfucker _, yes!"_ _ ******_

Sakura chuckled at Kisame's confused expression. "In the Mangekyou, I made all of his weapons into squeaky toys," she explained. "I guess he had to make sure it wasn't real."

Kisame's laugh echoed through the room. "Ah, Sakura-chan. Devious as always, ne?"

"But of course, my sharky friend. If I'd had the mind to, I could've been worse than Naruto growing up, what with all of his pranks and whatnot. Being a genius means you can get some pretty creative ideas sometimes."

The two laughed at that and went back to tending to the twins. Struck by a sudden thought, Sakura asked Kisame quietly, "Kisame, have you ever thought of having children?"

Looking away from Mai, he answered, "Not really. Even in Kiri, there weren't very many girls who could stand the sight of me; everyone was too scared to interact with me much. After a while, I gave up on ever finding anybody who could get past what I look like and be willing to stay with me. It's not a big deal. Any kids I have would probably have to deal with the same shit I did. I wouldn't wish that on anybody."

Sakura nodded. She opened her mouth to reply, only to have a pillow thrown in her face. "Don't say anything, yeah. He's not the only one who was treated like that back home, so don't baby him unless you're gonna baby the rest of us, yeah."

Sakura turned questioning eyes on Deidara, who had walked in and was now on the couch. Lifting his hands so she could see the mouths, he explained. "These aren't exactly a turn-on for chicks, yeah. And the one on my chest, which was stitched closed by Kakuzu, is even more of a deal-breaker."

"Not to mention the one on your face," Sasori said, walking into the room. Deidara gaped like a fish at the insult. Looking over to a giggling Sakura, Sasori said, "I believe that all of us have had rough pasts, and were all ridiculed in one form or another as children."

Sakura looked around the room at the men who had shaped Itachi's life from the time he was fourteen. Kisame, who had to be the biggest goofball in all the nations, but who was fiercely loyal to those he loved. Deidara, who was a loudmouth, but could be so sweet and serious when the time called for it. Sasori, who was probably the only one who understood the strain she and Itachi had been under as children, since he himself was a genius. Zetsu, who had taken to randomly popping out of the ground to scare her (his devious side being the culprit), then giving her the prettiest flower of the day from his massive gardens (his nicer side's way of apologizing). Pein, who had often talked to Itachi about making a nursery for the twins so that Sakura would be more willing to stay at the base. Konan, who had become one of Sakura's best friends through their midnight ice-cream-and-girl-talk sessions. Hidan, who had a fouler mouth than Tsunade, but who respected those who earned it. Kakuzu, who was a greedy bastard, but could be counted on in a pinch.

To her, these weren't S-ranked missing ninja who had betrayed their countries. Oh, no. These were people who had overcome unfortunate situations to achieve greatness. People who had been forced, one way or another, to leave their homes. These were people who were now...her _friends._ She trusted these people with her life, with her children's lives. No matter what, she would stand by these friends of hers and defend them. Her heart swelled with this new-found affection. She smiled a bit, then burst into tears. Three pairs of eyes widened in panic as the tears continued to flow unchecked down Sakura's cheeks. All three men were secretly terrified of crying women; they had no idea how to stop her uncontrolled sobbing and were slightly afraid of Itachi finding them surrounding the crying female.

A few minutes went by. Hidan, brought into the room by the sobbing, froze at the sight of a blubbering Sakura sitting in the middle of the floor. Scowling, he looked at the other three. "What the fuck, guys? You're just gonna let Sakura-chan cry herself to death? Sheesh," he berated them as he walked over to Sakura. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her a bit. "Oi, Sakura-chan. Stop your fucking crying already; you're scaring the hell outta the pussies over there."

Sakura giggled through her tears. "P-pussies, Hidan-kun?"

"Well, yeah. If they don't even have the balls to deal with a crying woman, then they're pussies. Me, on the other hand, I know how to deal with crying women," he said, leering at her.

"I suggest you deal with someone other than my soon-to-be wife, Hidan," a cold voice said from the doorway.

Sakura's face brightened, as suddenly as if a light switch had been flipped. "You're back, 'tachi-kun!" she said as she jumped up from where she had been sitting. She shot across the room and into Itachi's arms in a pink blur.

Wrapping his arms her, Itachi glared at everyone in the room. He looked down at Sakura with a soft expression, completely at odds with the death glare he had just given the men. "What made you cry, koneko?" he asked gently.

Sakura smiled into his chest. "I was thinking about all of my new friends, and how much I care about them. It overwhelmed me," she admitted.

Itachi shook his head. "Sometimes you are very silly."

Sakura just smiled. Itachi looked up at the others. "Kisame-san, would you please ask everyone to meet in the debriefing room in ten minutes?"

Kisame nodded confusedly. Not bothering to explain, Itachi whisked Sakura away to their room. He pinned her against the door the second it was closed, kissing her senseless and running his hands up and down her body. Sakura moaned and arched into his touch. After a few minutes, Itachi pulled away and led her to the bed. Sakura sat down and looked up at Itachi, who started pacing uncharacteristically. "Itachi, what is it?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Itachi stopped in his pacing to look at her. There was a warmth in his eyes that caused her heart to skip a beat.

He took a step forward. Sakura's heart began to pound faster.

He knelt down. Sakura's breath hitched.

Pulled something from his pocket.

Looked into her eyes.

Opened the small, rectangular box.

Tears formed in Sakura's eyes.

"Sakura, will you marry me?" Itachi asked, still looking deep into her eyes.

Sakura gasped, then let out a choking sob. She nodded as tears once again spilled down her cheeks. "Yes, yes, yes. A million times, _yes_!" she cried as she launched herself into his arms.

Itachi smiled as he turned her in his arms so he could slip the ring he had just had made for her onto her finger. Sakura slowed her tears enough to look at it. Her breath hitched once more as she took in the ornate silver band, carved with tiny, ivy-like designs and inlaid with a starbust-cut emerald as green as her eyes and tiny diamonds on each side. She burst into tears once again. "W-when did you find t-time to get this?"

Itachi kissed her hair and explained, "I designed it myself, and had the best jeweler in Ame make it for me. That is why I went into town today. It was finally completed."

Sakura smiled and looked into Itachi's eyes. "Itachi, I love you so much. I'm so happy right now."

Itachi smiled in return. "I love you, too, koneko." He dropped his head to her shoulder. "Thank you for saving me."

"Saving you? From what?" she asked.

"From who I was becoming. Madara's influence was changing me, and it was not for the better. I should regret that night the twins were conceived, but I can't. You came back to me, and brought my children with you."

Sakura kissed Itachi again, a kiss so full of love and passion that it caused his heart to pound. Before her kiss could lead to anything else, Itachi pulled away. "Come, we have very important news to tell the others."

Sakura giggled and nodded, allowing him to pull her out by her hand.

In the debriefing room, the others were all just standing around, wondering what Itachi had to say that was so important. Suddenly, the door flew open to reveal Itachi and Sakura. Before anyone could say anything, Itachi held up a silencing hand. "Sakura has something to say," he told them.

Sakura face broke into the widest grin anyone present had ever seen before. With a flourish, she raised her left hand, showing off the ring Itachi had just given her. "We're getting _married!_ " she said excitedly.

The men all had identical looks of shock, but Konan squealed in joy. She rushed at Sakura and enveloped the smaller kunoichi in a crushing hug. The two started talking about wedding plans and all that go with them as they left the room, while the men slowly surrounded Itachi and clapped him on the back. Pein shook his hand and led him away from the others to talk about where the wedding would be, hinting that it would be best to marry in a neutral place, so that both the Akatsuki members and the Konoha ninja could attend and be on equal footing.

Kisame busted out some cigars for the men to smoke, while the girls had a planning party in the kitchen, complete with ice cream and magazines that Konan had rummaged up. The two were careful not to plan too very much, wanting to save some things for Sakura's other friends to help with. Later that night, they all made plans to move to their little-used base in Suna, to be closer to Konoha and to be on neutral(-ish) grounds. They sent letters to the Hokage, which was answered within twenty minutes via slug summon; and the Kazekage, which was answered the next day via Temari's weasel summon. Both congratulated Itachi and Sakura on their pending nuptials, and the Kazekage granted them permission to stay in Suna legally.

The next day, everyone had moved into the new compound and things were going fine. Tsunade gave Pein and Konan amnesty so they could stay in Konoha with Itachi, Sakura, and the twins until the wedding. The girls all had a wonderful time planning Sakura's wedding, which was to take place four days after Hinata's make-up wedding. Konan grew close to the Konoha kunoichi, while Pein enjoyed constant guys' nights with the kunoichi's men. For two weeks, they planned the two weddings, and finally, Hinata's second big day had come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *- One of Hidan's quotes that I found on Narutopedia.
> 
> **- A quote from a book called Fire and Ice by Anne Stuart, by a guy named Reno who I kept comparing to Hidan because of his cursing.
> 
> Still rushed as hell, but whatever. Comic relief after the last chapter. :)


	12. Two Weddings...

**Chapter Twelve**

**Two Weddings...**

**Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

**Also...I know nothing of Japanese wedding traditions...so I'm just gonna stick with 'Hokage-says-they're-married' and leave it at that. I don't want to insult or upset anybody by getting something wrong. Also...I know nothing of kimono, what they're supposed to look like for a wedding, or the different parts of them...I'm just going with what wikipedia told me...which isn't that much.**

* * *

When Hinata Hyuuga woke up on the morning of her second wedding, she felt no nerves or fear. She felt absolutely fine. She told everyone later that she used up all of her nerves during her first nuptial attempt. So on this day, Hinata woke up, showered, and called Ino. Ino, who had been planning both of the upcoming weddings, showed up five minutes later with the rest of Hinata's wedding party. Sakura and TenTen helped Hinata into her wedding kimono, an almost exact replica of the first one that had been damaged before. This kimono was a beautiful shade of pale pink, with small sakura blossoms hand-painted on the hemline to create the illusion of them swirling around Hinata as she walked. The obi was a shade darker than the sakura blossoms. Hinata had decided not to go all out with her hair and make-up this time, settling for a simple yet elegant up-do and the bare minimum of lip gloss and eye shadow.

As Hinata walked out of her room, the other girls gasped. Ino grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look better now than you did at your first wedding!"

Hinata blushed and smiled. "Thanks to you, Ino. And the rest of you girls. I really don't know what I would do w-without you."

Sakura smiled gently. "I'm so proud of you, Hinata. You've been working so hard on not stuttering. I'm happy for you, and for Naruto. You guys are going to be great for each other."

Ino grinned lecherously. "And if you're wearing that lingerie I had made for you last time, I have no doubt that it'll be exactly nine months to the day from now that you guys welcome the first Hyuuga-Uzumaki child into the fold."

Hinata blushed again. "Actually, Naruto found out about the Yondaime-sama being his father. He talked to Godaime-sama and they've legally changed his last name to Namikaze. He's going to start fixing up the old Namikaze estate after the wedding."

The other girls looked shell-shocked. Hinata continued with, "It's not much of an estate, just the main house and a small guest house. But Naruto thinks it's going to be wonderful."

Shaking her head, TenTen smiled at her cousin-in-law. "You're wonderful, Hinata. You've really been there for him all these years. He doesn't know how lucky he is."

Hinata smiled back at Neji's wife. "I'm so happy to call you family. All of you, really. Thank you guys for b-being here."

The girls all crowded around the bride-to-be, gently hugging her. Ino stood back and wiped her eye. "Well, look at the time. Girls, we need to change now."

Sakura grinned at Ino, TenTen, Temari, and Konan. "No, we don't. Just follow my lead, okay?" As the other women nodded a bit apprehensively, Sakura slowly made a series of seals. At the end, a white cloud enveloped her and slowly dissipated to reveal Sakura standing in the outfit she had planned for the wedding. Ever her hair, makeup, and nails were fixed to perfection. Ino squealed and rushed through the seals, eager to see what Sakura had planned for each of them. After all of them had "changed" and primped a little, it was time for the wedding to begin. Sakura quickly made her way to the Hyuuga compound's courtyard, where the wedding was to be held. Hinata's father had insisted on her being closer to her home in case something happened again.

Everyone had pitched in to help decorate. Yamato had used his Mokuton jutsu to create a beautiful arched trellis, where Ino had used a jutsu to cover it with pure white cosmos. Sakura had created a jutsu to cause a continuous "snow" of pale pink sakura blossoms. Streamers had been threaded through the trees and hung with small ornamental paper lanterns. The ground was covered in lush green grass and beautiful flowers. When Hinata stepped outside, she couldn't contain her gasp of surprise. She looked at all of the wonderful decorations, then to her soon-to-be husband and felt her happiness and love for that man swell until her heart hurt with it. Before she could tear up, Hiashi had stepped up to his daughter and held out his arm. He still wasn't happy with Hinata giving up her rights as Hyuuga heir to marry the Kyuubi brat, but at least she would be happy. He gently placed his free hand over hers and together they walked up the path to where Naruto and Tsunade waited.

Naruto felt like he couldn't breathe. When Hinata had stepped outside, all the breath left his body in a _whoosh_. He had never seen her look so beautiful. This wasn't the girl who would blush and pass out if he so much as looked at her; this wasn't the young woman who would secretly pine for him, but never say a word about her love; this wasn't the young woman who had risked everything to be with him. This was the woman he was going to love and cherish for the remainder of his life. Which, according to Tsunade, was going to be a pretty long time. On his last check-up, she had noticed that his body had slowed down to an incredible level. It seemed that as a Jinchuuriki, his lifespan was quite a bit longer than the average person.

As Naruto watched the love of his life walk toward him, he didn't care about any of that. All he knew was that whatever time the kami blessed them with together would not be wasted. At all. He heard a rumble echo through his mind, oddly sounding like a purr. He smiled, knowing that the Kyuubi approved of his choice in mate.

Finally, Hiashi held Hinata's hand in his for a moment before placing the dainty fingers into Naruto's hand. The two smiled at each other before turning to Tsunade, who had a soft smile on her face. As the ceremony proceeded, she witnessed the love between the two grow even stronger. At last, the two were officially presented as Naruto and Hinata Namikaze. A few gasps were heard as the guests realized that Naruto was indeed the beloved Yondaime's son.

Sakura smiled through her happy tears as her best friend left the compound with his new wife. They were going to the Namikaze estate, then continuing to their honeymoon. Gaara, who hadn't been able to attend the wedding, had given Naruto and Hinata free use of his family's summer home in the Land of Waves.

Itachi watched Sakura watching her friend. His lips twitched a bit at the thought of finally giving Sakura her dream wedding in just a few days. The guests of the wedding milled around and talked. Itachi quietly stole up behind Sakura and slipped his hands around her waist. A smile instantly curved her lips. She turned slightly in his hold so that she could lightly kiss his cheek. "Just a few more days," Itachi reminded her. Sakura's smile widened even more.

"I can't wait to become your wife, Itachi. I love you so much." Sakura glanced up to look him in the eyes so that he could see the complete honesty in her words. He smiled just that tiny bit and kissed her lips.

"I am also looking forward to calling you my wife. But for now I suppose we shall have to settle for living in sin."

Sakura gasped until she saw the teasing glint in his eyes. She smacked his arm. "Itachi, you're terrible. I'm going to go help the other girls with Hinata's kimono for the honeymoon."

Itachi's eyes took on a hazy glint. "I am also looking forward to our honeymoon. Very much."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and smacked his arm again before walking off. He watched her walk away, feeling the little tug in his heart that made him grateful that she wasn't walking away for good.

His urges years ago had, honestly, scared him. He had felt dirty, wanting Sakura in such a primal way. Waiting a few more years had given them both time to mature and grow in strength. And wealth. Due to Pein's leniency, a third of every mission's proceeds went to the team who had completed the mission. Itachi was a wealthy man. Of course, physical wealth could never compete with the wealth of family and love. So Itachi had decided to come back to Konoha and to Sakura. His plans went awry, as best laid plans are wont to do. He had been dosed with a narcotic that caused his libido to skyrocket. Kisame had been paid back in full. With interest. But the damage had been done and Itachi had effectually raped Sakura. The rose and his necklace had been a token of his apology the next morning when he realized what he had done.

Sakura didn't know the truth behind the necklace, that it was pretty much a betrothal necklace, passed from mother to eldest son, who would give it to his chosen bride, and so on. By giving her the necklace and by her acceptance of it and wearing it, they had been engaged since before the twins were ever born.

Itachi blinked as a hand gripped his shoulder. Brought back to reality, he looked up and saw Kakashi Hatake's masked face turned to where Sakura stood with Hinata and Naruto. "She's doing so much better than she was just two years ago. Even after she realized you were gone and not coming back, she never quite got back to herself. Her laugh wasn't as bright, her smile always a bit forced. But now look at her. She hasn't been this happy since she was a Genin. I think...she's forgiven you, Itachi-san. Maybe not completely, but enough to truly love you. You might regret abandoning her and cutting ties, or even stopping those little visits to the teahouse, but you can't live in the past, Itachi. It never works. Take that from an old man who tried for many years."

Itachi was a bit shocked that Kakashi had even spoken to him, let alone practically read his mind. Then he remembered Sakura telling him of Tayuya losing their first child a few months back. He nodded his thanks to the older man, understanding his words of regret. "I'm sorry for your loss, Kakashi-san. But I hope that everything turns out well for you and your wife."

Kakshi grinned at Itachi through his mask. "Maybe sooner than later. Tayuya's pregnant again."

Itachi's lips tilted up a bit as he congratulated the man. When Tayuya walked up to her husband, Itachi congratulated her as well. The red-haired music nin blushed. "He's already told half of the people here. If he doesn't stop, everyone will think we're trying to steal Naruto and Hinata's thunder," said with a poke to Kakashi's ribs. The three continued to talk as Hinata and her "ladies in waiting" made their way to the room that the newlyweds would be sharing that night. Sakura and the other girls unwrapped the kimono from Hinata's slightly trembling form as Ino retrieved the lighter kimono that would be much easier for Naruto to remove later. Kurenai helped remove the pins from Hinata's hair and then brush it into some semblance of order. Ino remarked that by morning, it wouldn't matter anyways. Hinata barely blushed.

For two months, she and Kurenai had been talking about what to expect on this night. Kurenai had told Hinata everything pertinent and ways to help ease things along. Every time they had those conversations, Kurenai expected it to be the last, but Hinata was always back a few days later with more questions. By the day of the wedding, most of Hinata's shyness of the subject had worn off. She wasn't afraid of her first time with Naruto. She was looking forward to it. Kurenai had told her of the pain that some girls feel their first time, but Hinata wasn't worried about that. Her life as a kunoichi had probably taken care of the physical barrier of her innocence. True, it would hurt to be stretched as Kurenai had said she would, but she didn't fear the pain.

Finally, Hinata was dressed in a simple lavender kimono that tied with one single string. Surely Naruto could figure that out. Hinata giggled a bit at how naive her husband really was. But it really only made her love him more. He always believed the best of people and was seemingly immune to the hardships that had plagued his life. She was in awe of his ability to grow stronger because of those hardships.

As the girls left the room, Hinata kept pondering her husband. While she was looking out of the window and lost in her thoughts, Naruto stepped into the room. He smiled at Hinata's intense look in the window's reflection. Walking over to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her neck. When she jumped and turned to face him with a squeak, Naruto just smiled as he lightly pinned her back against the window.

"So, Mrs. Hinata Namikaze, what would you like to do now? Get a head start on our honeymoon or wait until we get to Gaara's summer home in the Land of Waves?"

Hinata giggled. "I want to wait, Naruto. I don't want our first time to be in my old house with my entire family listening to _everything we say!"_ Hinata ended the sentence in a raised voice. Coughs were heard throughout the hall as the other Hyuuga family members flushed guiltily at being caught. Naruto's eyes widened comically. "Still want that head start?"

Naruto shook his head emphatically. Then his gaze sharpened. "Hinata. When did you stop stuttering?"

His new bride flushed. "I've been working on it for s-some time. I usually only stutter in public. With you, I've been more and more relaxed and not as prone to stuttering."

Naruto grinned at Hinata as he drew her into his arms for a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Hinata smiled back at Naruto's enthusiasm. Soon after, the two settled into bed to get some rest for their trip to the Land of Waves the next day.

***!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!***

While Hinata and Naruto slept, Itachi and Sakura were _trying_ to have some alone time. That alone time was being interrupted every few minutes by either Deidara or Kisame. Deidara kept freaking out about whether or not he was doing something wrong while watching the twins; Kisame was just being as ass. Finally, they split up to deal with the interruptions. Itachi went to see to Deidara and the twins while Sakura went to pummel Kisame. Deidara was straightened out within five minutes, under threat of bodily harm if he bothered them again. Kisame was sent to Tsunade after only two. Sakura had pinned him to a wall and punched him every time he said no to whether or not he would finally leave them be. With every hit, Sakura had channeled a bit more chakra into her fist.

Finally, the two had a peaceful night together, contemplating where to go for their honeymoon. Sakura was in favor of just staying in Konoha with the twins, while Itachi wanted to go to one of the smaller Akatsuki bases in Rain. Rain wasn't quite as...rainy...during that time of the year and it became quite beautiful at the base. It was like a jungle or rainforest. Sakura just didn't want to be away from Mai and Shin for so long. She didn't trust that Tsunade, Deidara, and Ino would have things covered. But Itachi was slowly winning her over to his side. Mention of hot springs, a private chef, and peace and quiet were too hard to pass up. She finally caved when he said that he would give her a massage every day they were there. Sakura moaned at the thought of his masterful hands massaging away her aches and pains every day for a whole week. She said yes pretty quickly after that.

***!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!***

Two days later, Itachi and Sakura were married. There wasn't near as much fanfare that Hinata's wedding had. Sakura was wearing a plain kimono that had belonged to her mother, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. The Hokage stood under an archway in Mikoto Uchiha's revived garden. Itachi stood to her side, uncharacteristically fidgeting. Sakura waited inside the house with Kakashi for their cue to begin their march. Naruto and Hinata, who had postponed their honeymoon, were standing with Sakura's mom, Shikamaru and Temari, Ino and Gaara, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Pein and Konan, TenTen, and Neji. Tayuya was once again the musician, but she didn't mind. As she started playing her flute to begin the wedding, she watched the people interacting with each other.

The married couples were very loving and attentive to one another. The Akatsuki members looked a bit uncomfortable. Except...Sasori kept sneaking glances at TenTen, as did Neji. That was gonna be dramatic later on. Itachi looked anxious, which was very surprising, considering that the man rarely showed any emotions. As Sakura, escorted by Kakashi, walked out of the house and toward Itachi, Tayuya saw the looks that flitted across his face. Love, worry, happiness, regret. As Sakura came closer, the love shone through more than anything, though it hardly showed for the others watching. They didn't see the little smile that curved his lips, or the way his eyes had widened a bit when Sakura had stepped outside. Tayuya looked to Kakashi, standing beside Sakura's mother, and saw the same look on his face, only more pronounced. The sound nin blushed a bit, but kept playing.

As Sakura made her way down the stone path to where the others stood, she couldn't help but think of Sasuke. _"I always thought I would be here with you, Sasuke. Can you ever forgive me for not being there when you needed me? I should've tried harder to keep you from leaving. I should've went along with Naruto and the others when they went after you. I'm sorry, Sasuke."_

_A breeze swept through the garden, seemingly caressing Sakura's cheek. "I don't blame you, Sakura-chan. I never have. And, as misguided as I was, I thought it would be us, too. Be happy with Nii-san, alright? You both deserve happiness after everything I put you through. I love you, Sakura."_

Tears formed in Sakura's eyes and started to fall as Sasuke's words whispered into her ears by the wind. _"I love you too, Sasuke."_ Sakura's gaze found Itachi, watching with a bit of worry as Sakura cried. _"But not like I love him. He's my world. I should never have tried to replace him with you. It wasn't fair to any of us."_

 _"I told you, I don't blame you. We were kids, Sakura. Now, go get married and finally become Sakura Uchiha."_ With that, the wind slowly dissipated. Sakura smiled and turned her attention back to Itachi. Smiling brightly, she grasped his hand and let him gently pull her up onto the small dais where he and Tsunade stood. As Tsunade began her speech, Itachi felt the same wind that had carried Sasuke's voice to Sakura. _"Take care of her, 'Tachi."_

 _"I will, little brother. I promise."_ Itachi heard Sasuke's husky laughter. _"You never were good at keeping your promises. See that this one is different."_ The breeze flicked Itachi's hair around a bit, then slowly dissipated. Itachi turned his attention back to Tsunade, who had turned and grabbed a red ribbon from somewhere behind her.

"This ribbon symbolizes the bond between you. The color red, for the hearts involved. The ribbon itself, for the tie that will bind you together. Each of you will transfer some of your own chakra to the ribbon, to signify that this is of your own free will, and that you choose to share your life with the person standing on front of you." She gently wrapped the ribbon around Itachi and Sakura's wrists, then tied it and placed the knot between their clasped hands. At her nod, they both began pushing chakra into the ribbon. Itachi's black chakra and Sakura's pink melded together and flickered like flames above the ribbon. Neither tried to dominate the other, instead seemed to be dancing. Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, then continued with the ceremony. "With the acceptance of each other's chakra, and each other, this marriage is now final."

Tsunade unlooped the ribbon without untying it, then handed it to Itachi. "Keep this in a safe place. If you two ever want a divorce, you'll have to bring this to me, untied. The act of pulling out your chakra and untying the ribbon makes the divorce final." Itachi nodded and placed the ribbon in his pocket, almost reverently. He grasped Sakura's hand and pulled her to him for a kiss - their first as man and wife. The gathered crowd cheered and clapped. When the two broke apart, Sakura went to coach Deidara on the do's and don't's of babysitting. Ino and Gaara walked over and reassured Sakura that the Iwa missing nin wasn't going to be the only one watching Mai and Shin. Itachi made his way to Naruto and Hinata to thank them for being there, at the expense of missing two days of their own honeymoon. They smiled and excused themselves early, after saying goodbye to Sakura, so they could get a start on said honeymoon.

Itachi and Sakura thanked everyone for coming, then made their way inside to pack their things and say goodbye to the twins. Hidan and Kakuzu were both asleep, each with a baby clasped to their chest as they snored. Sakura stifled a giggle as she went to kiss Mai's head. Hidan barely twitched. When Itachi brushed his lips over Shin's hair, Kakuzu's threads twitched a bit, then settled as Itachi and Sakura backed out of the room quietly.

Deidara was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Take good care of our children, Deidara. I will kill you if anything happens to them." Sakura smiled as Itachi delivered his threat. The way Deidara paled at his tone reassured Sakura that he wouldn't let anything happen to them while they were gone. With a few more goodbyes, the two left for their own honeymoon.


	13. ...And a Honeymoon

**Chapter Thirteen  
**

**...and a Honeymoon**

**Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

After two long days of travel, Hinata and Naruto stumbled into the summer home of the Kazekage. It was a beautiful place, all glass windows and state-of-the-art appliances everywhere she looked. The den had an amazing view overlooking a small inlet where she foresaw the two of them having lots of fun later on. For now, though, the newlyweds were too tired to do much more than sleep. So after tossing their bags down onto the floor of the bedroom, Naruto pulled Hinata into his arms, pressed a kiss to her brow, then toppled over sideways to land on the bed. He was snoring within seconds. Hinata took a bit longer to fall into her dreams, but she did so with a smile on her face.

**[-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-]**

While Naruto and Hinata slept, Itachi and Sakura were working up to it. They had reached Ame within a few hours of their departure and got right into breaking it in. Before the post-marital sex, however, Sakura had insisted on cleaning. There was a layer of dust on everything, and the entire base had been stale from being closed for so long. Sakura had flung open all the windows, beaten all the rugs and sheets, and wiped down all the dusty surfaces. Itachi had been forced into grunt-work. He was carrying all of the stale furniture outside to let it air out, while also keeping an eye out to make sure Sakura didn't tire herself out. By the time they had cleaned the whole base, it was nearly dusk and both of the ninja were feeling the strain.

Instead of letting them just fall into bed, Itachi insisted on a bath. The bathroom he led her to was one that Sakura hadn't seen at all during the cleaning. Itachi had kept her away from it so that it would be a surprise. The bathtub - which was set into the floor - was huge, big enough for at least four people. The shower was big enough for three, and had clear glass doors. Sakura gasped as she took in the beauty and extravagance. Itachi opened a closet to reveal an array of bubblebaths and scented soaps. He reached in and pulled out one that smelled like cherry blossoms, vanilla, and blackberry. Sakura had already turned on the taps to fill the tub, so Itachi poured in a generous amount while the water was running. As the tub slowly filled, Sakura turned to Itachi. When he caught the look on her eye, he smirked. That look meant a long night of screams, moans, and utter exhaustion by morning.

Slowly, Sakura unzipped her shirt. Itachi's eyes followed the zipper as it trailed down Sakura's torso. When she got to the bottom, Sakura decided to leave it on, teasing Itachi with glimpses of her bare breasts, since she had foregone the usual bandages that held her breasts relatively in place. As her hands went to unzip her skirt, Itachi vanished and reappeared in front of his new wife. _"Wife. I cannot believe she's my wife. I...love this woman,"_ Itachi thought to himself. Ignoring his brain, Itachi's skillful hands brushed Sakura's shirt over her shoulders and down to her wrists. His hands covered her breasts, nipples hardening under his touch. Sakura's gasp encouraged him and he lowered his head to replace his left hand with his lips. Forgetting her skirt, Sakura's hands came up to tangle in Itachi's hair. When he lightly bit down on her nipple, the pink haired kunoichi's knees went weak.

Raising his head, Itachi made quick work of both of their clothes, then lifted Sakura into his arms to carry her to the almost-overflowing tub. Stepping down into the tub, Itachi made his way over to one of the built-in seats and settled Sakura in his lap. When she felt his hard cock nudge against her, a wave of heat traveled through her veins and straight into her core. Moaning, she pushed her hips into his, grinding their sexes together and working them both into a frenzy. When Itachi's lips returned to her nipples, Sakura threw her head back and reached between them to find his rock hard cock and guide it into her. Sinking onto him, the new Uchiha bride clenched her inner muscles and gasped as Itachi's hips jerked upwards and thrust himself even deeper into her. The two set a furious pace and it wasn't long before Sakura was wailing her release. Itachi grunted and pulled Sakura off of him before turning her to lean over the edge of the tub. Without giving her much warning, he slid inside her from behind, then began pounding into her with all the force and speed he could manage. Sakura moaned and pushed back into him with every thrust while Itachi reached up and threaded his fingers through Sakura's pink locks. Tugging slightly, he pulled her head back as he leaned forward, just enough to reach her lips and kiss her hungrily.

"Itachi, please. I can't take much more," Sakura pleaded as her muscles spasmed around his pistoning shaft. Itachi released her hair to grab her hips, slowing his thrusts to give each one more power. Sakura let out a little moan with every thrust, spurring Itachi on and making him hard enough to burst. When he felt her starting to tire, he reached around her hips and rubbed her clit before pinching it just a bit. Sakura screamed as she came hard, giving Itachi the release he had put off. As he slipped out of her body, little aftershocks rippled through her. Smiling, Itachi lifted a boneless Sakura into his arms and tenderly bathed her with a washcloth. After cleansing himself, he lifted her out of the tub and dried them both off before carrying his wife to their bedroom to sleep.

**[-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-][-.-]**

Naruto smiled as he watched Hinata sleeping. She snored ever so lightly, making Naruto want to giggle. Finally tired of being hard and awake by himself, Naruto slid a hand onto Hinata's shoulder to gently push her onto her back. That same hand trailed down her chest to caress the generous breasts there. Kissing her lips softly, he followed his hand down and latched onto one of Hinata's pale nipples and laving it with his tongue before biting down gently. While his mouth was occupied, his hands made their way to spread Hinata's slender legs before sliding up to rub at her clit. One hand rested on her hip to keep her still while the other slid one finger gently inside her body. When Hinata started to wake, Naruto felt a rush of warm wetness cover his finger. He smiled against her breast as he slid another finger in to join the first, slowly pumping them in and out. As Hinata's hips began to move in rhythm with those fingers, the blonde kissed his way down to replace those fingers with his mouth, causing his wife to gasp and bring her hands down to his hair.

Not really one to take charge, Hinata surprised herself by pulling Naruto's face closer to her and rotating her hips into his caress every time his tongue swiped her flesh. Before long, Hinata cried out as the waves of pleasure washed over her. Naruto rose up over his _hato_ and smiled down at her. A little worried at hurting her, the knuckle-headed ninja slowly eased inside her, barely moving at all. Tired of being teased, Hinata wrapped her legs around Naruto's hips and moved her hips upward in one swift thrust, completely enveloping Naruto's shaft in her wet heat. Both stilled as he bottomed out inside her, too overwhelmed to move for fear of finishing right then and there. After a few minutes, Hinata shifted her hips. Naruto took that to mean she was ready and slowly slid out of her. They both gasped at the sensation, and Naruto was quick to return inside. Fearing he would cum before Hinata, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back. The momentary reprieve helped stave off his climax, but seeing Hinata look down at him with her full breasts bare and bouncing from the sudden move, didn't help at all. Hinata was shy at first, but soon set a pace and movement that had them both on edge. When Hinata cried out, Naruto grasped her hips and yanked her down onto him even as he thrust up, sending his seed deep into her womb. Panting, they collapsed and lay chest to chest as they recovered.

"For a first t-time, I think that was _amazing_ , Naruto-kun. I love you," Hinata gasped as she caught her breath.

Naruto looked up at Hinata with worried eyes. "We didn't use protection, _hato_. What if you get pregnant?"

Hinata smiled and began shifting her hips, causing Naruto's softened member to harden once more. "That's kind of the p-point, honey. I want to have your children, as many and as quickly as possible."

Naruto's eyes glazed over as Hinata's words struck a chord deep within him. He realized he wanted a big family, too. Grinning, he flipped them over and pulled Hinata's legs up over his shoulders. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" With that, he thrust completely inside his precious wife with one hard thrust, sending them both up into the clouds once again. Naruto's heart almost stopped when Hinata begged him, "Faster, Naruto-kun. Harder!" After a moment's pause, she tightly clenched her inner muscles around him, breaking him out of his shock and back into the moment. Grinning a bit ferally, he gave Hinata what she asked for. Eyes tinted a bit pink, the whiskers on his cheeks slightly more pronounced, his cock grew even bigger from the influence of the Kyuubi. With the fox's demon instinct fueling his own, Naruto pulled out Hinata and flipped her over onto her stomach.

Grasping her hips, he pulled her up and brutally shoved his rock-hard member into her tight warmth. Screaming, Hinata asked for more by pushing back with her hips. Happy to oblige, the slightly-possessed Naruto gave her all he had. Inhumanly fast thrusts paired with demonic strength, Hinata could barely stand it. But she loved every second of it. When Naruto slid a claw-tipped hand around her hips to lightly flick her throbbing clit, the walls surrounding him clamped down as Hinata plummeted over the edge. Roaring, Naruto fell with her, seated as deeply within her as he could possibly get. Hinata shuddered at the feeling of Naruto's hot cum jetting into her, sending her over the edge again.

Deep inside, Hinata somehow knew that they had just conceived their first child. Naruto pulled out of her and flopped onto the bed and, smiling, Hinata laid her head on his well-toned chest. "I love you, Naruto." The blonde's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer. "I love you, too, Hinata. I can't believe how long it took me to see that you were always there for me, no matter what. I'm sorry."

Hinata looked up at Naruto and smiled. "Don't be sorry. It led us to where we are right now."

Naruto leaned down and kissed his wife on the lips hard, showing her without words how much he loved and desired her. Before either of them could get worked up, Naruto broke the kiss and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep, _hato_. You need your rest." Hinata smiled and kissed her husband's chest before settling into a comfortable position. Their breaths evened out as they both fell into a satiated sleep.

* * *

**Hato is dove in Japanese, according to google.**


	14. Family Planning

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Family Planning  
**

**Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

Two weeks passed without incident. Sakura was beginning to plan the twins' birthday party, while Itachi made plans to keep his family from following the rest of Akatsuki to a base in Ame.

Every time Pein brought it up, the dreams that had plagued Itachi for months flashed before his eyes.

Screams.

Blood.

The glint of a blade as it swung down-

Itachi grimaced. He was putting together a plan. One that would get him out of the Akatsuki and back into Konoha, with his family. The first step was the easiest: Getting them back to Konoha.

The twins were going to turn one year old in just over a week. He had put in his request to take his family home, so that Sakura's friends could be part of Mai and Shin's birthday party. While Itachi felt somewhat guilty using them as a scapegoat, so to speak, he was going to use any excuse he could in order to avoid taking his family to that base.

Now, it was just a waiting game. Leader still hadn't given him an answer, but Itachi planned on going either way. Hearing Sakura call for him, Itachi shook away thoughts of plans and contingency plans, determined to keep Sakura from seeing the worry hidden in his gaze.

Walking into the nursery, Itachi gazed down at his family, caught in musings of how big they were getting. Shin could now walk, while Mai was beginning to take those first steps. The two were amazingly in sync, knowing without fail where the other was at any given moment. To test this, Itachi took Mai into one of the room on the far side of the base, with Sakura and Shin in the newly-built nursery. Even after spinning around a few times, Shin, when asked where his sister was, unerringly pointed in her direction. Kisame quipped that they should have known about that when Shin was abducted. Sakura politely blackened his eye.

Itachi was slowly becoming more expressive around Sakura. His smiles were a bit wider, his face not as expressionless. If someone walked in on the small moments, he immediately shut down once again; the habit was too deeply ingrained to let just anybody see his walls come down.

Soon after their honeymoon, the Akatsuki men built a new room just past Sakura and Itachi's room for a nursery, and another room down the hall. Kisame had been sharing a room with Tobi, until he revealed himself to be Madara. Now, the new room was Kisame's, and Tobi's old room was essentially a guest room, silently understood to be on of the twins' when they were old enough not to share a room, since it was closest to the other two rooms.

The older the twins got, the more they became attuned to each other. They were beginning to speak, garbled phrases interspersed with actual words. It didn't take long for everyone to realize that the two had their own sort of language. When they began to flare chakra when they were mad, Itachi and Sakura realized that they were going to have a very hard time as Mai and Shin got older.

Sakura was beginning to train with Itachi, her own skills growing as he took her under his proverbial wing. She, in turn, helped him expand on his impromptu use of her fighting style while fighting Madara. Together, they became a rather formidable force to reckon with. Without Naruto to base her own growth on, she realized that she had seriously cut herself short for years. It took having a serious talk with Itachi to realize that she had been unfairly stacking herself against them. Naruto with his Jinchuuriki capabilities, Sasuke and Kakashi with their Sharingan, Sai with his RooT training; they had all started out somewhat ahead. Sakura had fought tooth and nail to get where she was now: holding her own in a sparring match with an Akatsuki member.

Before she began training with Tsunade, Sakura's stamina had never been very high. Kakashi had been too focused on the prodigy and the fox boy to put her through more than the most basic of training. Looking back, Sakura supposed Kakashi wasn't a very good sensei, at least until Sasuke had left. Only then had he begun paying attention to the kunoichi he had dismissed as weak. Then, she had demanded to be Tsunade's apprentice. Her shishou had very odd training, but it had been effective in honing Sakura's speed and evasiveness.

Those skills were coming in handy now as she and Itachi danced the way only shinobi can. Fists and kunai, boots and swords, red eyes blazing against pink, the two moved so fast they could hardly be seen. Hidan, Kisame, Deidara, and the twins watched in awe as the the two fought using only the most basic of skills. Mai and Shin, now nearly a year old, watched with fascination as their parents fought. Almost as one, they pushed themselves to their feet and attempted to mimic what they were seeing.

Kisame gaped at the babies. Hidan blinked and called out, "Hey, your runts are playing ninja."

Sakura and Itachi immediately stopped, eyes searching for their children. The two were standing and throwing fists at each other, nowhere close to contact, but attempting nonetheless. Sakura's Sharingan noted how closely Shin's stance resembled her own, while Mai's was more that of her father's. Itachi wrapped an arm around his kunoichi and tugged her closer. "I believe we're going to have our hands full in a few years. They're already trying to use chakra."

Sakura groaned. "Why couldn't you have been stupid? Then we wouldn't have two abnormally advanced genius children who will likely take over the world one day."

Itachi smirked. "I'm not the only parent with above-average intelligence. What makes me the dumb one?"

Sakura glanced up at him, mirth dancing in her eyes. "Well, if you insist on being the smart one, I guess I'm the one they get their looks from."

By this time, the kids had tired themselves out and plopped back onto the ground. Deidara grinned as he thought of something. "Can I teach them about art, yeah?"

As one, every person in the yard agreed with a resounding, "No!"

Deidara slumped. Sakura grinned and placated him. "Maybe you can teach them sculpting. With _no_ chakra."

The Iwa nuke-nin smiled and said, "I think I can do that, yeah."

Sakura bent down to pick up her son, groaning as muscles protested after the intense workout she and her husband had given each other. A smirk crossed her face as she remembered once again that Itachi was her husband. She felt silly, but it hit her at the oddest times, making her grin like a moron.

Itachi lifted Mai, tossing her into the air and making her screech with laughter. Sakura winced as Shin began squirming, wanting to be tossed, as well. "Kisame, play with Shin. I'm too tired."

The shark man grinned as he levered himself from the ground and lumbered over. "Pansy. Come here, runt." Tossing the boy into the air, he was rewarded with Shin's infectious laughter. Sakura smiled and ducked into the building, wanting to get a shower before she started on supper.

As she stirred the vegetables in the frying pan, she felt a wave of nausea. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she added the rest of the ingredients for the meal she had planned. Leaning down slightly to get a whiff of the usually-pleasant aroma, she froze as the nausea returned with a vengeance. Deidara walked into the kitchen only to have a spoon shoved at him as Sakura ran past. He stared after her for a moment before looking at the spoon in his hands and then to the stove.

"Oh!" he breathed as he jumped to stir the food.

**%%%%%%%%**

Sakura knelt in front of the toilet, groaning as she lost what little food had been in her stomach. Groaning again as her eyes watered, she coughed as the burning in the back of her throat became noticeable. Pulling herself up, she hobbled unsteadily to the sink to grab a washcloth to wet it and wash her face. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the taste before taking a deep breath and leaving the bathroom.

Out in the hall, she ran into Kisame, still carrying Shin. The baby smiled and happily called to his mama.

Sakura smiled and reached out to her son, only to feel the sickness rise again as she smelled the food from the kitchen down the hall. Kisame, noticing her grimace, raised an eyebrow at her. "You still sore, pinky?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the nickname, one Kisame only rarely used, thankfully. "No, I must be coming down with something. I keep feeling sick."

Kisame snorted. "As much as you two go at it like rabbits, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a new little runt in the oven there." His prediction delivered, he sauntered away, whistling as he went.

Sakura felt her blood run cold, thinking that she might possibly be pregnant again. _"Surely not. We use protection...except for on the honeymoon. Oh, my god. What if I am pregnant?"_ Shin whimpered and Sakura realized she had been holding her son a little too tightly. "Sorry, baby. Mommy wasn't paying attention. Want to get some supper?" She smiled as her son nodded his head and laughed.

All through supper, she worried about the possibility. _"It wouldn't be_ so _bad. I just don't want to raise a full squad of ultra-smart shinobi kids."_

Itachi noticed his wife's lack of attention, but said nothing, choosing instead to distract the twins. Whatever she had on her mind, she would bring it up to him eventually. For now, he had enough on his mind.

**%%%%%%%%**

Later that night, as they lay in bed, Itachi felt Sakura's jittery movements as she struggled to find the words to tell him what was on her mind.

Softly, he spoke, "Sakura, you don't have to tell me, whatever it is. I can tell there's a lot on your mind, but I don't have to be privy to everything. You're allowed some privacy, you know."

Sakura rolled over and smiled at him. "You are amazing, Itachi. Naruto would be bouncing off the walls right now, begging me to tell him, and Sasuke...well, he would pout and glare until I gave in." Sakura winced inwardly, unsure how Itachi would react to the first mention of his now-deceased brother.

He would be lying if he said it didn't hurt, that casual mention of her former teammate. He regretted having pushed his brother so far down the path he had traveled. He could say that it was all Madara's fault, but he had acted somewhat on his own, if only to push Sasuke to train harder, be better. Since Itachi hadn't been able to defeat Madara, he wanted Sasuke to be able to.

Itachi sighed softly. So many things gone wrong. But, he thought as he glanced at his wife, so many things gone _right_. There was no guarantee that he would have ended up with Sakura if things hadn't played out how they had, no matter how much he wished he could take back things he had done and allowed.

Sakura's huff brought him back to the present. He smiled as he noticed her fidget more before finally sitting up and turning to look at him seriously. Itachi waited patiently for her to find her words. When she did, he kind of wished she hadn't.

"Itachi, I might be pregnant again."

Now, Itachi found himself struggling for words. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Sakura bit her lip as her hands fisted in the covers. "Itachi, say something."

Finally, he found his tongue again. "What makes you think that?"

Sakura grimaced. "I got really sick today cooking, and you know I usually love the smell of food. Well," she said with a small laugh, " _my_ food. I'm not sure that what Deidara and Kisame cooks can be labeled as food."

Itachi smiled slightly in agreement before slipping his hand onto Sakura's thigh. "Would it be so bad if you were?"

Biting her lip again, Sakura answered, "No, but I don't want to have another baby so soon. Or two. Mai and Shin are enough of a handful, and that's only going to get worse as they get older."

Itachi rubbed his hand over her thigh before asking, "Is it too early to tell with your medical chakra?"

His wife smacked her forehead with her palm. "I'm such a moron." Rolling her eyes at her own mental lapse, she scooted around to lay flat on the bed before sending chakra to her hand. Bracing herself, she laid her hand over her abdomen, sending the tendril of warmth to her womb.

After a minute or so, she sighed softly and released her hold on the chakra. "Negative, Mister Uchiha. Two's the limit for now." Rolling over to look at said Uchiha, she smiled. "Let's say we try to be more careful in the future, okay? The honeymoon was amazing, but we should have thought more about protection."

Nodding his head in agreement, Itachi wrapped an arm around his wife and pulled her closer to whisper lowly, "We have plenty of protection in the nightstand." His lips trailed from her ear to her neck, kissing and lightly nipping as he went. His hand crept under her shirt to reach up and cup her breast, thumb trailing across her nipple as she gasped softly. Her own hand came up to tangle in his hair as he moved to cover her with his larger frame, bracing himself with the arm that wasn't currently up her shirt.

Finally, his lips met hers in a more tender kiss than she could remember ever having received. Her free hand moved to his back, trying to pull him closer as their tongues met and began to battle for dominance. Her legs moved apart to welcome the thrust of his lower body, making heat race through her at the press of his obviously-aroused member. Sakura moaned, grinding her hips into Itachi's. The Uchiha ducked his head to latch his lips onto Sakura's neck, muffling his groan as he hardened even further. Sakura gently pushed Itachi away, earning her a quizzical look. That expression quickly turned back to lust as the kunoichi stripped her top, quickly followed by the bindings she still wore out of habit.

Itachi took the hint and pulled his own shirt over his head, then his fingers trailed down his wife's body, pausing to tease in places, until he was brushing the elastic waistband of her shorts. He kissed a trail to meet his fingers, only to pull the shorts off in a flash as his mouth continued downwards. His blazing red eyes met her bright jade ones, both lit from the inside with a hunger that couldn't be contained. Itachi swiped his tongue across the wet folds of Sakura's sex, only to come back with a vengeance as he began to tease and torture.

Sakura moaned as her fingers latched into Itachi's hair, pulling him closer as she felt herself working towards a release. Just as she was getting close, Itachi jerked himself away. Sakura blinked and looked at him, only to smirk when she saw his fingers struggling with the enclosures on his pants. Standing on wobbly legs, she stepped in front of him and pushed his hands out of the way and knelt in front of him. Her almost-steady fingers made quick work of the ties and she pushed the material down his legs. Itachi brushed his hand over Sakura's hair as she took his cock in hand and licked the tip.

Without warning, she engulfed the head and moved to take in as much of his hardness as she could. For a second, Itachi went cross-eyed as the sensations wracked his body. The warm, wet slide of her mouth, tongue teasing his flesh, brought him to the brink within minutes. Finally, he pushed Sakura away and swept her up in his arms, dropping her on the bed as he reached for a condom in the nightstand.

Moving over his wife once again, he pressed against her wetness, teasing them both. Sakura moaned, "Itachi, please."

Dipping his head down to brush his lips against her ear, he whispered, "Please, what, Sakura?"

Another press of his hips, his length sliding along her folds, had her arching her back in pleasure and frustration. "Fuck...me," she grunted.

Half a second later, her body had accepted all of his. They held each other closely, relishing the feeling of completeness. Sakura's inner muscles fluttered around his invading flesh, finally driving Itachi to _move_. With every thrust, he jarred Sakura's body with the force as the tip of his cock brushed her cervix. When she cried out in more pain than pleasure at a particularly deep thrust, he adjusted his hips and pressed slowly back inside her warm body. Now, he was bumping that spot inside that made her toes curl and her back arch.

Soon, Itachi had the perfect angle and speed that would bring them to climax within moments of each other. Each slide of his body pressed against all the right spots, and every fluttering of her walls had him gritting his teeth to keep from coming early.

Finally, when the Uchiha couldn't take it anymore, he slipped a hand down to stimulate her clit. He smashed his lips to hers to muffle her scream as she came around his cock, stimulating him to his own release. With one final thrust, he held himself lodged deep inside her as the spurts of cum filled the condom. He collapsed gently on top of his gasping wife and kissed her neck. She smiled and dipped her head to press a soft kiss to his shoulder. Long minutes later, Itachi finally managed to make his muscles move and made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up.

Slipping back into bed, he slid an arm around his petite wife and pressed himself against her back. He closed his eyes and slept.

For about two seconds.

 _"Pregnant. Again."_ Those two words echoed in his head as his eyes snapped open. Mild panic attempted to flow through his veins, but Itachi held himself in tight reign until the urge to panic passed. The fight tired him out and he melted back into the bed, closing his eyes as he let himself think more about what could have happened.

They would have been able to go back to Konoha, for a while at least, without suspicion.

But the family he already had was more than enough leverage for an enemy to exploit, as evidenced by Madara. Adding more children would be like asking for some bounty hunter to come after Sakura or the children to get at him.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Itachi silently promised Sakura to do what it took to keep their family safe. Even if it meant preventing expanding it. For a while, anyways. A smirk tilted the corners of his lips as he imagined a house full of Uchiha children, back in Konoha.

Sometimes, he missed the village so much it ached.

But he had done his duty, ten fold. Nothing could take away the nag of horror in the back of his mind from what he had done, though his little family was helping. If he could bring his children up in the village, teach them to honor the Hokage as their leader instead of a figurehead to be done away with, maybe he could atone.

Mentally scoffing, Itachi rolled over to face Sakura. His wife was the main reason he wanted to go back to the village. He knew she missed her friends and family. His own wants had little to do with it.

He would do anything it took to keep his family safe. The Sharingan flared in his eyes as his emotions surged. Sakura stirred as the wash of chakra hit her, but settled back into sleep when Itachi wrapped his arms around her. Tamping his emotions back down to a bearable level, he settled beside his wife and slept.

**%%%%%%%%%%%**

"Itachi, Leader-sama wants to see you," Kisame called as the Uchiha stepped into the noisy kitchen.

Sakura had taken to cooking breakfast for everyone, and it became a madhouse as everyone tried to get their food without someone else taking it first.

In answer to Kisame's message, Itachi nodded his head. He glanced over at Sakura and saw her staring at him worriedly, the eggs in front of her forgotten. He flashed to her side to whisper in her ear before kissing her cheek and disappearing. She shook her head and turned back to the food.

**%%%**

Itachi reappeared outside the door that led to Pein's office. Knocking, he waited for the orange-haired man to call out before slowly opening the door and making his way inside.

Pein sat at the desk with papers strewn around him. His cloak was off, but the Rinnegan was ever-present. He sat back at Itachi's approach. "Ah, Itachi. I was wondering when you would finally turn up."

The figure-head of Akatsuki shuffled papers around until he found the one he was looking for. Glancing up at the stoic Uchiha, he smirked. "I know you have ulterior motives for wanting to return to Konoha, but as the reason you stated in your request is at least partially valid, I'll let it slide." When Itachi's expression didn't waver, Pein continued. "When you go to Konoha, I want you to take these papers to the Godaime. Do not look inside the scroll they'll be sealed in."

"Hai, Leader-sama. We will leave the same day everyone else leaves for Ame."

"Hai, hai. You may go." As Itachi reached for the door handle, Pein called out, "And Itachi, I expect you and your family at the Ame base in three months."

A swift nod from the silent ninja was the only reply he got, but the dents in the door handle from the death grip Itachi had had on it amused him even as part of him felt sorry for the other man. _"You can't escape, Itachi. None of us can."_

**%%%%%%%%%%%**

Less than a week later, the base was cleaned out and ready to be abandoned for another year. Amusingly, everyone was fussing over the twins as they said goodbye. Leader and Konan stood to the side, waiting rather impatiently for things to wrap up. Itachi, also ready to get on the way, tilted his head at Sakura. She smirked at the silent communication as she patted Deidara's hand away from Mai and brought Shin up higher on her hip.

Itachi held his hands out to Mai, who clapped her hands and reached readily for her dad. He strapped her to the carrier on his chest as Sakura did the same with Shin. Saying one final goodbye, the two groups went their separate ways.

Itachi led the way, pushing their speed as fast as Sakura could handle. Traveling from Earth Country would take them close to a week, even at a greater speed. In the long run, though, it was best to get away from Iwa as soon as possible. Sakura's unmistakable pink hair made her a target in most of the countries opposing Konoha.

Sakura smirked as Itachi slowed their pace a fraction. At the next branch, she shot past Itachi, smirking as she went by. The twins giggled and waved at each other. Sakura joined in the giggles as Itachi flickered out of sight, only to reappear some yards away. He glanced back with an answering smirk. Sakura's smile widened as she readily accepted the unspoken challenge.

All through Tsuchi and most of the way through Kusa, the two played shinobi tag, breaking for rests at night and to regain chakra during the day. As they neared the border to the Land of Fire, they slowed and kept on guard for ANBU patrol. Itachi turned his cloak inside out to avoid immediate attack, though he had little hope that it would work.

As they finally crossed the border into Fire, they once again increased their speed. Closer to Konoha, they stopped for the night, both taking pains to cloak the small camp with high-level genjutsu and taking turns keeping watch through the night. The next morning, they began the last few hours' worth of travel before reaching the village. Three miles from the Northern Gate, they stopped and dropped to the forest floor. Another mile, and they stopped again, this time surrounded by ANBU.

Sakura stepped forward to speak to the eagle-faced ANBU in front of them. She recognized him, but knew better than to say his name out loud. "ANBU-san, what's the problem?"

"The Uchiha is to be executed on sight. The apprentice of the Godaime Hokage is to be apprehended and taken to Interrogation. Danzou- _sama_ 's orders." The last was said with bitterness and sarcasm.

Sakura's eyes widened. "W-what? What happened to Tsunade? What happened to my shishou?!"

The eagle mask turned away. "Tsunade-sama has reportedly been assassinated."

"NO!" Sakura yelled. "Neji, please tell me you've finally gained a sense of humor and are joking."

A sigh came from behind the mask before leather-gloved hands came up to remove the porcelain. Hyuuga Neji's solemn face held no humor. "Sakura, I'm sorry. We think Danzou had a hand in it, but we can't prove anything. He's attempting to move into the Hokage's seat, but Naruto is holding him back."

A snort was heard from Sakura's left. Turning, she saw Kiba's grinning face. "He came up with some off-the-wall crap about honoring Tsunade by leaving her chair empty for two months. Said it would show dishonor to replace her so fast. The village agreed, so Danzou's hands are tied. There's a little over a month left to find a way to prove he's the one who..." He broke off at Sakura's tortured expression.

Her head bowed so her hair covered her face, she let a few tears escape as her lips pressed to the top of Shin's head. Her hands curled into tight fists as fire blazed in her eyes, turning them crimson for a split second before it settled into the usual pink. Itachi's own crimson eyes widened. Was his bloodline limit accepting the non-Uchiha kunoichi? He was brought from his surprise by Sakura darting to Neji.

She grabbed the top of his armor as she pulled the taller shinobi down to look him in the eye. "You said _reportedly_ assassinated. _Explain_."

**%%%**

For the next hour, Neji explained what all had happened in the months that Sakura had been gone while the parents took care of the needs of the twins. Small mishaps at first, there had apparently been attempts at Tsunade's life for months. As time and failures went by, the attempts became more pronounced. The one that finally, reportedly, got the Godaime was a rouge shinobi that hunter-nins had caught weeks before. Due to be executed for treason, the rouge had somehow escaped his cell deep within the Interrogation Unit and made his way to the Hokage's office. Shizune and Tsunade were nowhere to be found, but the blood spattered all over the room had been confirmed as the two women's.

"It is our hope that they escaped. Escape from the Interrogation Unit is unheard of. The rouge must have had help," Neji intoned.

Itachi nodded his head. When the twins had been born, he had been taken to the underground cells that Ibiki had reign over. Every door had a chakra seal, and there were no windows. Unless escorted by a current ANBU or Interrogation Squad member, passing through the seals would result in immediate alarms and painful subjugation.

Sakura smiled. "Shishou is alive. She'll find a way to come back home. But first, we have to make sure it's safe for her to come back. Neji, I need to get into the village."

Neji nodded. Kiba and the other two ANBU agreed. But how to get the very-obvious kunoichi into the village undetected?

Itachi spoke up. "My genjutsu henge is unnoticeable to most, unless trained specifically to look for it. It will do for now."

Sakura nodded. Once into Konoha, she would go to Ino's for her physical disguise. "Guys, you should go back now, so it won't look as suspicious. Don't need Danzou questioning you. Thanks, by the way."

Neji just smirked. "I believe you will owe me one, Haruno."

Sakura blinked. "You...just made a joke." She grinned widely. "Welcome to humanity, finally, Neji."

The Hyuuga simply shook his head as he and Kiba donned their masks. The Inuzuka sneaked in a quick hug and playful lick to Shin's forehead before joining his comrades in the trees.

Itachi stared thoughtfully after them. "Does he not usually have a canine?"

Sakura nodded. "Akamaru doesn't go on all of Kiba's missions, especially ones where anonymity is a must. It broke both of their hearts when Tsunade ordered Akamaru to stay home the first time." Her face tightened at the mention of her shishou. Itachi's arm came up to pull her to him.

"If she is alive, we will find her," he whispered as he held her close. The twins giggled and imitated their parents, arms coming up to sloppily wrap around each other.

Sakura nodded into his chest as she took a deep breath. Stepping back, she clapped her hands together. "Okay, Itachi. Let's get to Konoha. Time to save my village."

Itachi smirked and grabbed her hands to pull her close once again. Their lips met as he corrected her. " _Our_ village."


	15. Underneath the Underneath

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Underneath the Underneath  
**

**Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

Sakura breathed a sigh as she and Itachi walked calmly past the Chuunin guards at the front gate. Thankfully, the twins were being well-behaved. They seemed to take cues from their parents as to when to be quiet.

Inside the village, Sakura calmly led them to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, where Ino's family lived in the apartment upstairs. Inoichi answered the door, took one look at them, and quickly beckoned them inside without a word. Itachi and the twins waited in the family room while Ino rushed Sakura into her own room for her transformation.

Sakura grimaced as she told Ino to go crazy. She had to look completely different for this to work. Ino's eyes lit up with unholy glee. Two hours later, Sakura walked out of Ino's room. Itachi's eyes widened as he took in his wife.

Her once-pink hair was now cut almost to her head and dyed a sandy brown. Her eyes were now a chocolate brown, and the make-up covering her features effectively hid the rest of her resemblance to Sakura Haruno. Her clothes were now solidly civilian, instead of the genjutsu he had used earlier.

As Sakura made faces at her reflection, Ino appeared with a slightly maniacal grin aimed at Itachi. She held a pair of scissors aloft and snapped them for theatrics. "Okay, Uchiha. You're up."

Itachi fought the urge to wince at the thought of what he was about to endure...

**##############**

"I still think he should have been a ginger," Sakura said laughingly.

Ino smirked. "But the dark green is much more low-profile. Especially with you two supposedly coming from Kusa."

Itachi simply sat in his chair, fighting off a sulk. His hair had been chopped off, cropped close to his skull. His eyes were now an unassuming blue, and the marks under his eyes had been hidden with concealer. He wore an old traditional outfit of Inoichi's, which hung from his slim frame baggily. At least Sakura's borrowed clothes actually fit. Supposing nothing could change it now, he simply shrugged his shoulders before making his way to Mai and Shin.

The two toddlers had been rather well-behaved the whole time, playing contentedly with each other in the floor. Ino's parents had been happy to watch after them while their daughter had transformed the the now-fugitives. Thinking about what they were going to do, Itachi rubbed his hand across his forehead. A smaller hand joined his, causing Itachi to smile as Mai tried to comfort him the way she had seen her mother do before.

"Thank you, Mai, but you lack the healing touch just yet." Itachi gently drew the small hand down to kiss his daughter's fingers, but was brought up short by the sight that met his eyes. Mai's face was a picture of concentration as she stared at their hands. Shin, having been left behind, wobbled over and placed his hand over his sister's. Itachi blinked and slid into the Sharingan, feeling shock course through him as he took in the twins' chakra.

Where their hands met, their chakra formed one cohesive unit. Mai's was a bright pink, while Shin's was a dark blue. Where they met, the chakra turned inky black. Tapping on the floor with his foot, Itachi sent a flare of chakra to Sakura. The kunoichi made her way to the living room, only to freeze in the doorway. Her own Sharingan flared to life and she gasped at her children. The sound broke the concentration of the twins and their chakra faded away. Shin giggled, drawing his sister's attention. The two settled back onto the floor to play once more.

Sakura stood, frozen, while Itachi rose to stand beside her. "Itachi, that should not even physically possible! They're too young to even develop proper chakra coils, but this...! How..?"

Itachi gathered his wife close and wrapped his arms around her. "I believe our children will one day rule the world."

"That's not even remotely funny, Itachi!"

The Uchiha simply smirked into her neck and held her closer. In truth, he didn't have an explanation, either. Thinking distraction was the key, he pulled away and brought up their next move. "We need to go check into a hotel room. Your apartment and the Uchiha compound are both out of the question, and we can't impose on your friend's family forever."

Sakura forced her eyes to move from the twins and up to Itachi's. Nodding, she agreed, "You're right. And we can secure and reinforce a single room better than we could do anything here. I'll go tell Ino."

While she did so, Itachi began picking up their things and packing them into their bags. When he reached the toys that the twins were playing with, they dutifully handed them over, pouting all the while. Itachi smirked. "You can have them back in a bit."

He swore the two _sighed_ in resignation before turning to play with each other. With everything together, he pulled out the small hats that they had decided to use to cover the twins' distinctive hair colors. With the mix of black and pink covering Mai's head, along with Shin's eye color, it left little doubt as to the parentage of the kids. There was little they could do about Shin's eyes except cast a low-level genjutsu, and they were hesitant to resort to that just yet. For now, he was stuck in the front carrier, facing Itachi's chest. Mai clapped as Sakura picked her up to place in her own carrier, giggling when she found that she had a comfortable pillow to rest her head on.

Shin pouted as his own head rested against Itachi's rather flat, muscled chest. Sakura smiled at the two, tenderness filling her gaze as she playfully tickled her son's foot. Itachi's hand came up to tangle in her hair as Ino and her parents gathered around them. Ino sniffed and quickly latched onto her best frenemy.

"Be careful, okay?" the blonde whispered.

"Of course, Ino-pig," Sakura whispered back playfully.

While her friend turned to say goodbye to Shin and, by default, Itachi, Sakura turned her attention to Ino's parents.

"I can't express how grateful I am that you let us hide here, even with all the danger it could bring to you."

Inoichi smiled gently. "Sakura, you are our daughter's best friend. And if anybody is going to save the Hokage, it would be you."

Sakura blushed. Kimiko stepped forward and enveloped the pinkette in a hug. "You and your family are always welcome in our home, child."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you. Both of you. I'll try to get word back soon about anything I can find out."

Ino slung an arm around her friend. "You'd better, Forehead! You know worrying gives me wrinkles!"

Sakura chuckled. "We can't have that," she said dryly.

A few pleasantries later, the family of four was wandering the streets, looking for a decent hotel. Before too long they found a good-sized room for a decent price. Itachi unlocked the door with the key he had gotten from the front desk and quirked his eyebrow when Sakura dramatically dropped their bags and collapsed backwards onto the large bed. Mai laughed and clapped her hands.

Itachi smirked and turned away from locking the door back. He unstrapped Shin and settled him on the floor before walking over and beginning to set standard barriers on the windows. High-leveled enough to keep them safe, but not high enough for suspicion. Sakura stood after a few moments and moved to the bathroom to secure the windows there. Through it all, the twins watched their parents intently.

Finally, everything was secure enough and the two tired shinobi gathered their children up and readied themselves for bed. As they lay in the comfortable warmth of the large bed, Sakura whispered to Itachi, "Are you okay with watching them tomorrow while I try to get more information?"

Itachi nodded and reassured her, "I will take care of them. Don't get caught. I'm certain Danzou would leap at the chance to catch you inside the village."

Sakura grimaced. "You're right. I'll lay low and try not to draw attention to myself. Without the pink hair, that should be a lot easier."

"I would rather it be pink. This new hair color is...unsettling. It's not you."

His wife blushed and ran her fingers - as well as she could with it so short - through the now-brown locks. "Yeah well, yours is just as weird."

The Uchiha smirked pressed his lips to Sakura's. "Sleep, Sakura. I am sure that tomorrow will be a trying day."

With one last kiss, Sakura did just that.

**#############**

Resisting the urge to hug every familiar face she saw was something that Sakura was not used to. She had already caught herself moving to wave at acquaintances countless times. But so far, she had been successful, except for Naruto. He had actually recognized her almost immediately, and had had his arm almost broken for his astuteness. (Well, more for his loud mouth, but still.)

After promising to find him later and explain everything, she ditched him in an alley and continued to Hokage Tower. Registering as a foreign citizen was nerve-wracking. But it served the purpose. She and her family were now legally - more or less - allowed anywhere in the village that a Konoha citizen would be. And not a single person had recognized her. That had taken a load from her shoulders. Now, she walked calmly from the Tower to rejoin her family and plan the next stage.

A chill inched down her spine suddenly. Without missing a beat, she barely blinked as she kept moving. Any hesitation could cause their entire plan to go up in smoke. Instead, she smiled politely at everyone she met and even paused a few times to browse through wares on the streets. She bought a pair of leather gloves for Itachi, in case he was serious about wanting to learn more of her strength training. Her own gloves hadn't kept her hands from scarring, but they had lessened the damage quite a bit. Closer to the hotel, she found a vendor selling children's things. She smiled as she ran a hand over a beautiful kimono. Her babies were going to be a year old in a few days. She could barely believe it!

With a wry smile, she bought two nice outfits for the twins. They might not be able to have a party now thanks to Danzou, but they could still go out as a family to celebrate. With that thought in mind, she thanked the vendor and entered the hotel.

The feeling of being watched still hadn't left, but it was no longer a hostile feeling. As she neared their room, she finally got a glimpse of who was following her.

Well, his means of it, anyways. An inky black mouse crouched down the hall, its blank eyes watching her solemnly. Pretending not to notice it, she knocked three times on the door before entering.

Itachi was standing behind the door, kunai at the ready. He lowered the weapon and lifted a brow.

Sakura smiled at his silent communication. "We are now temporary residents of Konoha. And no one recognized me. Oh! I bought you these gloves. For if you wanted to keep learning what Shishou taught me."

Her husband tilted his head in acceptance. "Perhaps we should wait until your Shishou is safely back in her seat before we continue with that. It _is_ a very distinctive style, after all."

Sakura frowned. "I didn't think of that. You're totally right."

With a gentle kiss to her forehead, Itachi pulled her further into their suite. Mai was soon at her parents' knees, waiting to be picked up. Shin, never far from his sister's side, followed quickly. Settling her daughter on her hip, Sakura leaned against Itachi with a sigh. "We need to fix things soon. Shishou hasn't seen them in so long. They probably don't even remember her."

Itachi wanted very much to reassure his wife, but even he didn't know if Tsunade was alive. He hoped, for Sakura's sake, that she was truly fine. He squeezed Sakura to him one last time before releasing her and putting Mai down. Wandering to the window, he looked over the village. Even now, he could pick out the dark figured that shadowed certain villagers.

A few he picked out included Hatake, Umino, multiple Inuzuka as well as Nara and Akimichi. The strongest players on the board, apparently. Catching a glimpse of pink, he stared in consternation as what appeared to be his wife wandered the streets. Turning back, he saw Sakura laying on the floor on her stomach, playing with the kids. Shaking his head, he looked back outside. The splash of pink was gone.

_"That was...odd. Perhaps this is something to look into tomorrow."_

With that decided, the Uchiha turned back to his family, never noticing the shadow that dropped onto the balcony outside their window.

**#########**

Later that night, after Itachi and the twins were asleep, Sakura slipped from the bed and out into the living room. With a series of complex seals, she disabled the barriers and wards on the door to the balcony before slipping outside. She stepped up to the railing and tilted her face to the sky as she breathed in the familiar scents of her home.

"You really suck at hiding," she said softly to the shadows, not bothering to open her eyes.

One shadow separated from the rest. A figure moved forward and into the moon's light. "Perhaps I wasn't trying to hide, Hag."

A soft laugh escaped her lips. "Oh, Sai. You haven't changed at all."

"On the contrary, you seem to have changed a lot. Were you ashamed of your previous hideous looks?" the RooT agent asked with a fake smile.

Shaking her head, she shooed him inside. "Hurry, before someone sees you."

"I have provided the cover that a former lover was seeking citizenship, giving me freedom to visit you once or twice without much suspicion."

Sakura quirked a brow. "Former lover? Really, Sai?"

A light blush covered his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It was the best I could come up with."

"Obviously," she said sardonically.

A knock at the door, followed by a quiet _"Room service!"_ interrupted any more banter. Without waiting for an answer, the maid opened the door and stepped inside, pushing a laden cart. Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around the petite woman. "I missed you, Sensei."

Like a mirage, the woman wavered for a moment before Kakashi Hatake took her place. His arms came around his former student. "I missed you, too, Sakura."

Seconds later, the cart disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Naruto bounced up and down like a child. "Where's my hug, Sakura-chan?!"

Laughing, she threw her arms around Naruto before motioning for Sai and Kakashi to join in. "Team Kakashi, back together. Ready to kick some ass and make everything right again?"

Naruto's exuberant "Hell yeah!" made the group chuckle. Just like old times.

Kakashi stepped back and looked Sakura over. "Motherhood agrees with you, Sakura. As does training with Akatsuki members, apparently."

"Her chakra reserves have doubled, as has her stamina. I simply trained her as you trained me, Kakashi-san."

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare guiltily at Itachi as he stepped into the living room and closed the bedroom door. He stared placidly back. "Would I be remiss in assuming another party would benefit whatever plan you have?"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Come on over, Itachi-kun. We were just catching up for a moment before we got to work."

"From the obviously fake sighting of my wife that I saw from the balcony today, I believe you _got to work_ soon after we arrived in the village."

Sakura turned incredulous eyes to Kakashi. "Seriously? Our cover is flimsy already, Sensei!"

The grey-haired shinobi held his hands up in mock surrender. "It was to help with your cover. Even if someone suspected you were Sakura, seeing "her" in the streets would take some of the heat off of you. Gaara is currently showing your dear husband and children some hospitality while you search for answers here. The fact that Gaara has already allowed Akatsuki members to stay in Suna adds credibility."

Sakura frowned. "I still don't like it."

Naruto smirked. "You don't have to. It's already been done."

Shaking her head, the kunoichi let it go. Moving on, she turned back to Kakashi. "What's being done about Tsunade? Is Danzou searching for her?"

Kakashi nodded. "He doesn't believe she was killed, so he's been having RooT search for her. Very quietly. He doesn't want anyone to know she's still alive."

"But we all know she is! Baa-chan wouldn't let some dumb rouge nin do her in. She's too tough!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said softly. "I seriously needed to hear that."

The boisterous blonde wrapped his arms around his teammate. "We'll find her, Sakura-chan. I promise."

Itachi watched as his wife returned Naruto's hug. While he would normally be rather jealous, he could tell there was no sexual intimacy between them, only a familial one. They looked like siblings. If one discounted their wildly different hair color, anyways.

Sai finally broke the two apart. "I believe we should get to work. Too much time has passed, already."

Kakashi nodded his head and settled onto the floor. "Okay, Sakura. Here's the plan."

**###########**

Itachi couldn't sleep that night. All of their planning rested on one single thing. Well, person. Sakura was the backbone of the cockamamie plan that had been all that they could come up with on short notice. And now the Uchiha was kept awake by something he hadn't felt in years.

 _Worry_.

What if everything fell apart, taking Sakura with it? Could he really raise two children by himself? And what of his own plan to leave Akatsuki? Would Pein let him go if he had the legitimate reason of having to raise his children in Konoha?

Raising a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose, Itachi finally gave up on trying to sleep. He rose almost silently from the bed and made his way into the sitting room that had been their headquarters earlier. With a clear view of the village, he began to meditate. Slowly, he meticulously compartmentalized his worries, his errant thoughts, his daydreams. With a clearer mind, he focused on the intricacies of their plan, meticulously walking through every step and visualizing every possible scenario.

Finally, as the sun was peeking into the valley the village was nestled in, Itachi crawled into bed beside Sakura and slept. Hours later, he was woken by her lips caressing his. He tangled his hand in her hair and deepened the kiss for a moment before drawing back and simply taking her in. He had never let himself imagine a future with her. In the months they had been clandestinely meeting, he had made it a point _not_ to think about the future. Now, though, it was all he could think about. Maybe's and what-if's plagued his mind.

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Sakura grew fidgety. "Itachi?"she prodded softly. The glazed look receded from his eyes as he focused on her once more. With a soft kiss to his lips, Sakura tried to convey her love and trust. When Itachi's hand slid up to gently cup the side of her face, pressing back just as softly, the kunoichi felt her heart skip a beat.

All of the pain, the tears, the heartache, it had all led to this. The love and trust and _happiness_ they had together. _  
_

For long minutes, the couple simply kissed chastely, not feeling the need to deepen the caress. Finally, with the sun nearing its zenith, Sakura moved away. "It's almost time, Itachi. The twins are ready to go, we were just letting you sleep a while longer." When her husband simply closed his eyes and pulled her closer, Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, still not quite used to it being so short. "You know, I never thought we would actually end up together. Now that we are, now that we have a family to protect? I will do _everything_ in my power to keep this. I love you, Itachi, and I trust you to carry out the plan. Please give me the same courtesy."

Itachi pulled away and looked up into the jade eyes that haunted his dreams for years. "I...worry. Logically, I understand that this is the most sound plan we can successfully carry out, and that you are more than capable of doing your part. However, you are my wife. The emotional consequences of such a tie are...uncomfortable to deal with."

Sakura laughed. "Okay, mister romance, let's get going before you put your foot in your mouth."

With a beleaguered sigh, the shinobi rose gracefully from his position and draped his arm across Sakura's shoulders. "Very well. Let us go bring down a regime."


	16. Not a chapter, but please read!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After much deliberation and following a read-through of my own work, I've come to a decision. Cross-posted from Fanfiction.net.

Sorry to get your hopes up, but this isn't a new chapter! I just have a few things to say.

I've been writing on this story for  _nine years_. I was sixteen years old when I began writing this in History class because I was bored and had just been introduced to the wonderful world of Naruto. I'm well aware that, as is, this is a pretty pitiful excuse for a fic. Absolutely out of character, unbelievable situations - even for Naruto - and a lot of it has felt forced over the years.

I don't expect any special considerations due to this being mostly written by a teen, but I would ask that you have a bit more patience than usual with me.

You see, I'm going to delete this fic.

Don't freak out! It'll be back!

But, hopefully, better.

I've outlined the entire fic, beginning to end. I have plans to expand on Itachi and Sakura's history together, have more of Team 7/Team Kakashi, and actually have the parts of this fic that originally inspired it but never seemed to work into the storyline. I have high hopes for the new incarnation of this fic, which hopefully will not take another decade to finish.

I want to say thank you to all the people who have reviewed and favorited this fic over the years. You guys literally kickstarted me into writing more. It wasn't always on this fic, nor the Naruto fandom, but the kind words and encouragement I received from y'all made me  _want_  to write.

I also want to say thank you to the people who had not-so-kind words, especially recently. With the jarring difference from the usual positive reviews, it made me take a step back and really look at this story from a reader's POV, instead of the writer. And I realized how much  _better_  this could be.

For now, I'm going to leave this as a new chapter. Eventually, I'll delete the other chapters and leave this as chapter one, so that the people who have followed it can receive updates once I finally finish the reworked story and repost it.

Thank you all once again,

Megara09

**Author's Note:**

> This has been rewritten once, so if things don't seem to flow, please keep that in mind. The writing style may change as well, as I started this fic six years ago. I like to think I've come a long way throughout this thing.
> 
> This work is copyrighted by me, Megara09, and is not to be copied or hosted on any sites but AO3, AdultFanfiction.org and FanFiction.net.


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